Zero Knowledge

In this episode, Anna Rose and Guillermo Angeris catch up with Dev Ojha, co-founder of Osmosis and longtime ZK researcher. They revisit the story of Osmosis since its 2021 launch as a key Cosmos DEX, its role in early IBC adoption, the DeFi summer surge, the Terra collapse fallout, and the later pivot by the team toward privacy-focused cross-chain tools. The conversation then turns to Dev’s return to privacy tech, focusing on Zcash. They explore ongoing challenges like shielded sync, nullifier bloat, and scaling shielded transactions, along with proposed solutions involving private information retrieval (PIR), oblivious synchronization, evolving nullifiers, recursive SNARKs, faster block times with pre-confirmation ideas, and paths toward post-quantum recoverability. They wrap-up with a discussion about the need for further zkVM optimization and his vision for a more private future.   Related Links OsmosisZcashNamadaFractal: Post-Quantum and Transparent Recursive Proofs from HolographyTachyon: Scaling Zcash with Oblivious SynchronizationIBC ProtocolPrivate Information Retrieval (PIR)Arkworks Related Previous ZK Episodes Sean Bowe on Tachyon and the Evolution of Zcash     Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome are open! This edition has limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com   zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

https://youtu.be/9u4fu7TiZCA In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Alex Hicks from the Ethereum Foundation about formal verification and its role in the lean Ethereum vision. This is the 6th and final episode of the lean Ethereum mini-series. Nico and Alex explore what it means to produce machine-checked proofs across the ZK stack, from RISC-V and zkVMs to circuits, compilers, and cryptographic primitives, and how these pieces connect in practice. The conversation also covers Alex’s path from physics and math into the ZK space, how the EF effort took shape, and the community push to formally verify the entire stack using proof assistants like Lean. They discuss efforts to formalize zkVM components, the tradeoffs between proof assistants and automated solvers, and what real progress looks like after a year and a half of focused work.   Related Links lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drakelean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benediktlean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prizelean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregationlean Ethereum Part 5: Devnets & Upgrade Coordination with Will and Raúllean EthereumLean Consensus R&D ProgressLean Proof AssistantIsabelle Proof AssistantEthereum Foundation     Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com   zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

https://youtu.be/Ul2bs8INF0k In this episode Nico Mohnblatt chats with Will Corcoran and Raúl Kripalani from the Ethereum Foundation. This is part 5 in the 6-part leanEthereum miniseries, shifting focus from the cryptographic primitives and LeanVM stack to the real-world integration happening through devnets, specs, and cross-team coordination. They dive into the human coordination layer, how independent teams align on post-quantum signatures, SNARK aggregation, and protocol changes, plus the networking upgrades needed for larger payloads. Raúl explains the shift from today's libp2p stack to a purpose-built Eth P2P next-gen version optimised for Ethereum's workloads, including better broadcast layers, erasure coding, and control planes to handle bandwidth competition between execution and consensus layers. Related Links lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drakelean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benediktlean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prizelean Ethereum Part 4: leanVM, a Custom VM for Signature Aggregationlean EthereumLean Consensus R&D ProgressEthereum Foundation     Applications to attend the zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early at www.zksummit.com   zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

https://youtu.be/YWkyvTrwtQU   In this episode of the lean Ethereum miniseries, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Thomas Coratger and Emile from the Ethereum Foundation about the design and implementation of LeanVM, a minimal zkVM created to support post-quantum signature aggregation on Ethereum’s consensus layer. They explain why the team chose a VM architecture over fixed circuits and how LeanVM takes inspiration from Cairo with just 4 opcodes and 2 precompiles to keep the instruction set extremely small and make formal verification easier. The conversation also covers LeanVM implementation choices like using Plonky3 and WHIR for efficient proving on CPUs, benchmarks for aggregation speed, and the role of Python specs in testing client interop. They share ongoing efforts to optimize low-level primitives and invite community input on the project.   Related Links lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drakelean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benediktlean Ethereum Part 3: Security of PQ SNARKs and an update about the Proximity Prizelean EthereumLean Consensus R&D ProgressCairo zkVMWHIR: Reed–Solomon Proximity Testing with Super-Fast VerificationMinimal zkVM for Lean Ethereum by Emile Repos leanEthereum github organizationleanSig repo (optimized Rust implementation of XMSS for Ethereum usage)leanSpec repo (the Python spec of the lean consensus)WHIR repoPlonky3 repoleanVM     Applications to speak at zkSummit14 close this Sunday March 15! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com   zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

https://youtu.be/v8SGKS3T-3A In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Giacomo Fenzi from EPFL and Antonio Sanso from the Ethereum Foundation. For this 3rd instalment of the lean Ethereum miniseries, they talk about the theory and security behind post-quantum SNARKs. They dive into the hash-based proof systems underpinning LeanVM, multilinear approaches like sumcheck, and how these fit into Ethereum's post-quantum upgrades. They cover the $1M Proximity Prize and the recent wave of papers on proximity gaps, correlated agreement, and list decoding. From negative results near the Elias bound to breakthroughs beyond the Johnson bound for certain codes, the discussion explores how new results slightly degrade conjectural security, why the 128-bit threshold still matters, and what it means to move from conjectural to provable security in large-scale systems like Ethereum. Related Links lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drakelean Ethereum Part 2: PQ Signatures and Poseidon with Dmitry and Benediktlean EthereumLean Consensus R&D ProgressleanSig ImplementationPoseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash FunctionOn Proximity Gaps for Reed–Solomon CodesProximity Gaps in Interleaved CodesOn Reed–Solomon Proximity Gaps ConjecturesOptimal Proximity Gaps for Subspace-Design Codes and (Random) Reed-Solomon CodesAll Polynomial Generators Preserve Distance with Mutual Correlated Agreement Additional Resources Soundcalc GitHubProximity prizeOn the Distribution of the Distances of Random WordsSmall-field hash-based SNARGs are less sound than conjectured by Fenzi and SansoWHIR: Reed–Solomon Proximity Testing with Super-Fast VerificationSTIR: Reed–Solomon Proximity Testing with Fewer QueriesLinear-Time Accumulation SchemesTensorSwitch     Applications to speak at zkSummit14 are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com   zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh8hbz1nqxQ In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt speaks with Benedikt Wagner and Dmitry Khovratovich, cryptography researchers at the Ethereum Foundation, for the second instalment of the lean Ethereum miniseries. They explore leanSig, a hash-based multi-signature scheme designed as a post-quantum replacement for BLS in Ethereum consensus. The conversation walks through how one-time signatures and Merkle trees can be combined to support long-lived validators, and why SNARK-based aggregation is needed in a post-quantum setting. The talk touches on key tradeoffs like signature size versus verification speed, encoding challenges behind their At the Top of the Hypercube work, and the role of Poseidon as the core hash function. Related Links lean Ethereum Part 1: Introduction with Justin Drakelean EthereumLean Consensus R&D ProgressleanSig ImplementationPoseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash FunctionAt the Top of the Hypercube – Better Size-Time Tradeoffs for Hash-Based SignaturesHash-Based Multi-Signatures for Post-Quantum EthereumTechnical Note: LeanSig for Post-Quantum EthereumAborting Random Oracles: How to Build them, How to Use themThe Billion Dollar Merkle Tree Poseidon: A New Hash Function for Zero-Knowledge Proof SystemsPoseidon Cryptanalysis Initiative     Applications to speak at zkSummit14 are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com   zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dad2UonQ9Ag&feature=youtu.be In this episode, Nico Mohnblatt sits down with Justin Drake from the Ethereum Foundation to kick off a miniseries on lean Ethereum, a bold vision to rethink Ethereum’s consensus, data, and execution layers. Justin outlines how post-quantum cryptography, faster finality, and enshrined zkEVMs fit together into a cohesive redesign. At the heart of it is leanVM, an ultra-minimal zkVM built to aggregate hash-based signatures and recursively verify proofs, potentially turning post-quantum migration into a scalability win. They also explore formal verification efforts, the shift from conjectured to provable proximity gaps, Poseidon2 as a hash candidate, and how this work could set a post-quantum standard not just for Ethereum, but for other blockchains as well. This episode sets the stage for deeper dives in coming episodes. Related Links Ethproofslean EthereumLean Consensus R&D ProgressPoseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash Functiongithub.com/leanEthereum/leanSpecgithub.com/leanEthereum/leanMultisig     Applications to speak at zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbskOlf7oA0 In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt kick-off a new six-part video miniseries exploring lean Ethereum. Lean Ethereum is a proposal initiated by the EF that weaves zero-knowledge cryptography and post-quantum upgrades throughout Ethereum’s stack. They discuss why the topic deserves a deeper series, what listeners can expect from upcoming episodes, and how this new video-first format will differ from the podcast’s usual style. The conversation previews key themes like hash-based signatures, formal verification, proximity gaps, and the broader goal of future-proofing blockchain protocols with minimal cryptographic assumptions. They also share details about the upcoming zkSummit14 and how the community can get involved. Related Links Ethproofslean EthereumLean Consensus R&D ProgressPoseidon2: A Faster Version of the Poseidon Hash Function     Applications to speak at zkSummit14 on May 7 in Rome, Italy are now open! This edition will be more intimate with limited spots — we recommend applying early. Apply at www.zksummit.com   zkMesh+ live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

There’s no full-length episode this week, but we wanted to highlighting a new bonus segment available exclusively to zkMesh+ subscribers. In this, we revisit last week’s conversation with Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland. Ian dives deeper into: The renewed cultural focus on privacyThe evolving narrative around ZcashHis recent research on reducing nullifier state growth without relying on traditional pruning Join zkMesh+ as a paid subscriber to get access to this and all our extra members-only perks. https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe We return next week with a 6-part series on Lean Ethereum… stay tuned!

In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt welcome back Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, to continue the conversation from a previous episode and dig deeper into his latest work like zk-Promises, zk-Cookies, and Cryptographic Personas. These ZK tools aim to build social networks that protect user privacy while maintaining integrity, like anonymous moderation and reputation systems without central databases. Ian explains how they differ from traditional creds but share ideas around proving attributes securely. The conversation explores real-world applications, such as banning bad actors without de-anonymizing them, setting rules in private group chats, and creating self-sovereign identities that persist over time. Ian also touches on challenges like stolen accounts, trolling, age checks, and how these primitives could shape future online interactions.   Related Links Ian Miers: Academic profile and publicationszk-creds: Flexible Anonymous Credentials from zkSNARKs and Existing Identity Infrastructurezk-promises: Anonymous Moderation, Reputation, and Blocking from Anonymous Credentials with Callbackszk-Cookies: Continuous Anonymous Authentication for the WebCryptographic Personas: Responsible Pseudonyms Without De-AnonymizationZexe: Enabling Decentralized Private ComputationZerocoin to zk-creds: Modern ZK History with Ian Miers     zkMesh+ is live! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

No full length episode this week, but we have released an additional podcast clip with Sean Bowe to our a zkMesh+ paid subscribers. Sean Bowe is a Zcash core developer and lead on Tachyon. In this clip, Sean shares his thoughts on the question of quantum computers and their real impact on blockchains and ZK systems. Join zkMesh+ as a paid subscriber to get access to this and all our extra members-only perks. https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Anna Rose catches up with Sean Bowe, a Zcash core developer now leading work on Tachyon, the upcoming Zcash shielded pool upgrade. They discuss the evolution of Zcash’s technical roadmap over the past five years and how it has influenced the design of Tachyon. Sean then walks through the cryptographic ideas behind Tachyon, including its proving systems, new techniques for pruning nullifiers without disrupting other parts of the protocol, and how the upgrade aims to address Zcash’s remaining scalability bottlenecks. They also explore plans for Zcash governance, wallet UX, and the long-term outlook for privacy-focused zero-knowledge systems. Related Links Tachyon WebsiteZcashElectric Coin Company (ECC)Halo (ZK Proof System)Orchard Shielded PoolTachyon (Zcash Upgrade)ZK Podcast: Halo with Sean Bowe and Daira Hopwood from ECCZK Podcast: Sean Bowe on SNARKs, Trusted Setups and Elliptic Curve CryptographyzkSummit4: Sean Bowe on Halo: Recursive Proofs without Trusted SetupsA Note on Notes: Towards Scalable Anonymous Payments via Evolving Nullifiers and Oblivious Synchronization by Bowe and Miers     zkMesh+ launches today! Subscribe for zkMesh+ and catch the latest State of ZK 2025 report.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

We share some updates about the upcoming episodes and the ZK Podcast & ZK Hack ecosystem - specifically zkMesh+ launching this Wednesday. zkMesh+ will bring together work from the Zero Knowledge Podcast, ZK Hack, and ZK Mesh. Subscribers will have access to a set of additional resources, including: the quarterly State of ZK Reportmonthly addendums on adjacent technologies such as FHE, iO, and MPCearly access and discounts for events like zkSummit and ZK Hack hackathonsselect subscriber-only Zero Knowledge Podcast segments and other experimental content If that sounds interesting, you can subscribe ahead of launch directly on the ZK Mesh Substack https://zkmesh.substack.com/subscribe    

In this end-of-year episode, Anna recaps the major ZK themes of 2025 and gives a preview of what’s coming in 2026 — new episodes, a mini-series, zkSummit14, and the rollout of ZK Mesh Plus, a unified space for newsletters, educational content, and events. She highlights this year’s core research threads, from lattices and Ligero to quantum security, ZK-ID systems, emerging applications, and the ongoing push toward better proving benchmarks. Anna wraps with reflections on why privacy tech is becoming more urgent in the age of AI and what the community will be exploring next year. Related Links Ecosystem ZK Whiteboard Sessions ZK MeshSubscribe to ZK MeshZK Podcast substackState of ZK Report ZK Systems Story Back to the Future with Zero KnowledgeZero Knowledge Systems, Privacy and Security with Jonathan WilkinsThe Founding of Zero Knowledge Systems with Austin Hill Lattices Implementing LatticeFold with Matthew and Albert from Nethermind Lattices, Folding, & Symphony with Binyi ChenZK Whiteboard:Lattice-based SNARKs, w/ Vadim LyubashevskyZK Whiteboard:LatticeFold, w/ Binyi Chen Ligero Ligero for Memory-Efficient ZK with MuthuZK Whiteboard:The Ligero Proof System, w/ Muthu Venkitasubramaniam Quantum Quantum Engineering with Jelena VučkovićQuantum Punks with Alex and NicolaCountdown to Q-Day with Project 11 ZK-ID Bringing ID Onchain with SelfzkPDF and zkID with Vikas Rushi and Ying TongEvolving ZK Identity from Iden3 to Privado & BillionsZKPassport, Obsidion & the Emerging Noir EcosystemBuilding ZK Registries Onchain with Rarimo More How ZK inspired AI Watermarking with Miranda ChristLighter, Perp DEXs and Custom ZK CircuitszkTLS with Maddy from Reclaim ZKTorch & the Evolution of ZKML with Daniel Kang Zerocoin to zk-creds: Modern ZK History with Ian MiersEthproofs, zkVM Benchmarks & the Unstoppable Rise of ZK with Justin Drake ZK Benchmarks with Conner Swann Verifiable Key Management and TEEs with TurnkeyTLSNotary with Dan and Sinu Local-First with grjte and Goblin Oats AI and ZK Auditing with David WongThe Quest for Practical iO with Machina iO Indistinguishability Obfuscation (iO) with Huijia (Rachel) Lin Pratyush Mishra on Tiny Proofs, Folding, Low-Memory SNARKs and More     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript

In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt catch up with Pratyush Mishra, Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss the various themes in his ZK research and some of the works he has been a part of in the last few years. They explore how Garuda and Pari achieve extremely small SNARK proofs, how Arc facilitates hash-based folding, proximity proofs with FICS and FACS, his work on low-memory SNARKs, and ZK applications outside the blockchain space. Pratyush shares how these ideas intersect with one another, from faster proving to smallest proof sizes to real-world uses. He also touches on his collaborations with other leading cryptographers like Benedikt Bünz and Alessandro Chiesa, and how ZK is finding its place in broader computer science.   Related Links Garuda and Pari: Faster and Smaller SNARKs via Equifficient Polynomial CommitmentsArc: Accumulation for Reed--Solomon CodesFICS and FACS: Fast IOPPs and Accumulation via Code-SwitchingScribe: Low-memory SNARKs via Read-Write StreamingCoral: Fast Succinct Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge CFG ProofsHekaton: Horizontally-Scalable zkSNARKs via Proof AggregationQuery-Optimal IOPPs for Linear-Time Encodable CodesTime-Space Trade-Offs for SumcheckBlendy: A Time-Space Tradeoff for the Sumcheck ProverAccumulation without HomomorphismvSQL: Verifying Arbitrary SQL Queries over Dynamic Outsourced DatabasesSuccinct Arguments in the Quantum Random Oracle ModelLattices, Folding, & Symphony with Binyi Chen     Aztec is a privacy-first Layer 2 on Ethereum supporting smart contracts with both private and public state and execution.   Details about Aztec’s technology, research, and community programmes are available at aztec.network.     ZK Whiteboard Sessions is an educational video series produced by ZK Hack in collaboration with Bain Capital Crypto. It is focused on the building blocks of zero knowledge technology. Find season 3 of the Whiteboard Sessions as well as previous seasons here.   Check out the latest jobs in ZK at the ZK Podcast Jobs Board.     **If you like what we do:** * Find all our links here! @ZeroKnowledge | Linktree * Subscribe to our podcast newsletter * Follow us on Twitter @zeroknowledgefm * Join us on Telegram * Catch us on YouTube   **Support the show:** * Patreon * ETH - Donation address * BTC - Donation address * SOL - Donation address * ZEC - Donation address Read transcript