Blockchain Papers

Robin G. Qiu

No abstract is available for this record.

Z. Chen, Jianyong Yu, Yulong Wang

No abstract is available for this record.

Rahul Pitale, Kapil Tajane, Vaidehi Bhonge, Vijay Chaure · 6 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Christoph H.-J. Braun, Tobias Käfer

No abstract is available for this record.

Dan Bogdanov, Eduardo Brito, Annika Jaakson, Peeter Laud · 5 authors

Abstract This paper introduces a new set of privacy-preserving mechanisms for verifying compliance with location-based policies for vehicle taxation, or for (electric) vehicle (EV) subsidies, using Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs). We present the design and evaluation of a Zero-Knowledge Proof-of-Location (ZK-PoL) system that ensures a vehicle’s adherence to territorial driving requirements without disclosing specific location data, hence maintaining user privacy. Our findings suggest a promising approach to apply ZK-PoL protocols in large-scale governmental subsidy or taxation programs.

Shang Gao, Tianyu Zheng, Yuming Guo, Zhe Peng · 5 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Matthias Babel, Claus Guthmann, Marc-Fabian Körner, Tobias Kranz · 5 authors

Empowering end consumers with transparent product-related information is seen as a promising way to drive sustainable consumption choices and counter the global sustainability challenges. To foster this endeavor, Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are a potential solution to share product-specific data across supply chains, aiding informed consumer decisions and supporting sustainability. However, DPPs often involve the collection of sensitive information about supply chain actors and their processes. Hence, this paper aims to develop a DPP prototype that provides end-consumers with increased and verified information. We utilize wallet-based identities, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and zero-knowledge-proofs (ZKPs) to design a DPP for the textile industry that facilitates the transfer of verifiable information, lowering information asymmetries between humans and organizations and equips value-chain stakeholders with a means to verifiably share data. Our study seeks to bridge the design gap for a human-centric DPP infrastructure in IS literature by developing a sample infrastructure.

Shayesta Naziri, Xu Wang, Guangsheng Yu, Christy Liang · 6 authors

The increasing deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for military, commercial, and logistics applications has raised significant concerns regarding flight path privacy. Conventional UAV communication systems often expose flight path data to third parties, making them vulnerable to tracking, surveillance, and location inference attacks. Existing encryption techniques provide security but fail to ensure complete privacy, as adversaries can still infer movement patterns through metadata analysis. To address these challenges, we propose a zk-SNARK (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge)-based privacy preserving flight path authentication and verification framework. Our approach ensures that a UAV can prove its authorisation, validate its flight path with a control centre, and comply with regulatory constraints without revealing any sensitive trajectory information. By leveraging zk-SNARKs, the UAV can generate cryptographic proofs that verify compliance with predefined flight policies while keeping the exact path and location undisclosed. This method mitigates risks associated with real-time tracking, identity exposure, and unauthorised interception, thereby enhancing UAV operational security in adversarial environments. Our proposed solution balances privacy, security, and computational efficiency, making it suitable for resource-constrained UAVs in both civilian and military applications.

Marcela Lupu, Iulian Aciobăniţei

No abstract is available for this record.

Imane Majdoub, Khalid Atmani

No abstract is available for this record.

I. R. Solomka, B. B. Liubinskyi

This article presents a minimal viable product (MVP) architecture and proof-of-concept implementation that leverages zero-knowledge proofs to conduct essential KYC checks on a blockchain network without disclosing sensitive user information. The design employs a trusted off-chain KYC provider to validate user credentials, then uses succinct cryptographic proofs, compiled and verified with Groth16, Circom, and snarkjs, to guarantee compliance on-chain. A single smart contract deployed on a test network (Sepolia) verifies these proofs while insulating personal data from public exposure. The article outlines a practical off-chain/on-chain data flow, discusses essential performance metrics such as proof generation time and gas costs, and describes limited user testing for qualitative feedback. By integrating regulated AML checks with privacy-oriented ZKP protocols, this work demonstrates that decentralized applications can satisfy stringent compliance standards while upholding the confidentiality of user identities.

Jon Stephens, Shankara Pailoor, Işıl Dillig

Abstract Circuit languages like Circom and Gnark have become essential tools for programmable zero-knowledge cryptography, allowing developers to build privacy-preserving applications. These domain-specific languages (DSLs) encode both the computation to be verified (as a witness generator ) and the corresponding arithmetic circuits , from which the prover and verifier can be automatically generated. However, for these programs to be correct, the witness generator and the arithmetic circuit need to be mutually consistent in a certain technical sense, and inconsistencies can result in security vulnerabilities. This paper formalizes the consistency requirement for circuit DSLs and proposes the first automated technique for verifying it. We evaluate the method on hundreds of real-world circuits, demonstrating its utility for both automated verification and uncovering errors that existing tools are unable to detect.

Seyed Mohsen Rostamkolaei Motlagh, Claus Pahl, Hamid R. Barzegar, Nabil El Ioini

No abstract is available for this record.

Wulf A. Kaal

No abstract is available for this record.

Eshan Sud, Shirish Agarwal, Lav Upadhyay

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) are public key cryptosystem that enables to demonstrate that a statement which is known by them is correct without revealing the same to the verifier. ZKPs have moved in modern cryptographic systems, blockchain applications, decentralized finance (DeFi) and identity authentication systems. This paper explores the evolution of ZKPs and their significance as in secure and privacy preserving. We classify ZKPs into two groups namely interactive and non-interactive, discussing prominent protocols such as zk-SNARKs, zk-STARKs, Bulletproofs, PLONK, and Halo2. Each approach has advantages as efficiency, proof size, and computational overhead. The study further examines the multitude of applications of ZKPs, as privacy-enhanced blockchain transactions, zero-knowledge rollups for scalability, decentralized identity management, secure voting mechanisms, and regulatorycompliant financial systems. With advantages, possible limitations in scalability, lack of standardization, and vulnerabilities to emerging quantum computing threats. Due to the restrictions, hardware acceleration through GPUs and others, presents promising solutions, while new protocols such as PLONK and Halo2 seek to optimize performance to earlier developed solutions. Finally, we discuss the future trajectory of ZKPs. This review aims to provide an understanding of the current state of ZKP research, its applications, and the key challenges that need to be addressed to facilitate broader adoption.

Taisei Otsuji, Peter Fulla, Takuro Fukunaga

Hotaru Beam is a logic puzzle which objective is to connect circles placed on a grid by drawing only lines with specified starting points and numbers of bends. A zero-knowledge proof is a communication protocol that allows one player to persuade the other that they are in possession of a certain piece of information without actually revealing it. We show that Hotaru Beam is NP-complete and present a physical zero-knowledge proof (i.e. implementable using physical items) for proving that one knows a solution to the puzzle.

Jungwon Seo, Juhui Lee, Yunjae Joo, K.-H. Lee · 6 authors

Blockchain-based E-participation systems significantly enhance transparency, data integrity, and security compared to traditional E-participation methods. However, existing systems often face challenges, such as inefficient attribute sampling in Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP)-based systems and the absence of effective differential reward mechanisms to distinguish between sincere and insincere participants. This paper introduces a blockchain-based E-participation framework designed to address these challenges. The proposed approach improves attribute sampling in ZKP-based systems by incorporating attribute keys, enabling efficient and secure sampling of participants without compromising privacy. This ensures that only eligible participants are selected while maintaining the integrity of the sampling process. Furthermore, the framework uses Shapley Values to implement a robust differential reward system that fairly compensates participants based on their sincerity, encouraging genuine contributions while penalizing insincere behavior. The security of the proposed framework is rigorously validated through a comprehensive security analysis, and its performance is thoroughly evaluated to demonstrate its effectiveness. Additionally, the feasibility of this approach is demonstrated through a prototype with real-world participants, highlighting its practicality and potential for deployment in E-participation systems.

Baseer Fatima, K. P. Kaliyamurthie

The utilization of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) in blockchain technology enhances privacy while simultaneously preserving transparency. Given that blockchain networks frequently elicit privacy concerns owing to the inherently public nature of transaction data, ZKPs present a viable solution by enabling parties to authenticate transactions without disclosing sensitive information. This study primarily concentrates on zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs, which represent advanced iterations of ZKPs that enhance both privacy and scalability. By analyzing established blockchain protocols, such as Zcash and Ethereum, this research illustrates that ZKPs can effectively safeguard privacy while also facilitating scalability through mechanisms such as zkrollups, which consolidate multiple transactions into a single proof, thereby alleviating congestion on the blockchain. Additionally, ZKPs enhance the verification efficiency, thereby reducing the computational burden on blockchain networks and promoting expedited transactions. However, challenges such as computational overheads and regulatory hurdles persist, hindering the widespread implementation of ZKPs. Future research endeavors should focus on overcoming these challenges by developing more efficient algorithms and collaborating with regulatory authorities to establish clear guidelines for ZKP-based systems. The potential implications of ZKPs extend beyond blockchain technology, offering substantial advantages to sectors such as finance, healthcare, and identity management, in which secure and confidential transactions are paramount. In summary, although ZKPs possess the capacity to transform privacy within decentralized networks, further advancements are required to fully harness their potential and ensure their extensive adoption.

Kodai Tanaka, Shun Sasaki, Kazumasa Shinagawa, Takaaki Mizuki

Sudoku is a popular pencil puzzle where a player fills in the empty cells with numbers on an n × n board so that each row, column, and -block must contain all the numbers from 1 to n; a typical puzzle size is n = 9. In 2007, Gradwohl, Naor, Pinkas, and Rothblum proposed a physical zero-knowledge proof protocol for Sudoku using a physical deck of cards; their card-based protocol requires 3nℓ shuffles, where ℓ is a security parameter to eliminate the soundness error. Since the invention of this seminal protocol, several soundness-error-free protocols were constructed to reduce the number of required shuffles; the state-of-the-art one was designed in 2023, which uses shuffles. In this paper, we show that only three or two shuffles are sufficient to construct a zero-knowledge proof protocol for Sudoku, no matter how large n is, i.e., we propose two card-based protocols using constant numbers (namely, 3 and 2) of shuffles. Our proposed protocols are simple and efficient enough for people to execute for a 9 × 9 Sudoku puzzle in reality.

Seyed Mohsen Rostamkolaei Motlagh, Claus Pahl, Hamid R. Barzegar, Nabil El Ioini

No abstract is available for this record.

Funmi Eko Ezeh, Stephanie Onyekachi Oparah, Pamela Gado, Stephen Vure Gbaraba · 5 authors

The growing threat posed by quantum computing to traditional cryptographic systems demands a radical redesign of digital voting architectures. This review explores the development of a post-quantum blockchain voting protocol, emphasizing the integration of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to ensure data privacy, voter anonymity, and verifiable election integrity. The study synthesizes advancements in lattice-based and hash-based cryptographic algorithms capable of withstanding quantum attacks and evaluates their applicability within decentralized ledger frameworks. Particular attention is paid to the role of ZKPs—such as zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs—in constructing tamper-resilient, end-to-end verifiable voting systems without compromising performance or transparency. Through critical analysis of recent protocols, consensus mechanisms, and deployment models, this paper identifies key design principles for scalable, secure, and inclusive e-voting infrastructures. The review concludes with strategic recommendations for transitioning from prototype systems to robust electoral frameworks in anticipation of the quantum era.

Jianzheng Shi

No abstract is available for this record.

Chris Gilbert, Mercy Abiola Gilbert

As blockchain technology continues to evolve, the pursuit of privacy has become a significant challenge. Although the transparency and immutability of blockchain are essential features, they can unintentionally expose sensitive information. This paper investigates the potential of Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) and Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) as innovative solutions to address these privacy concerns. ZKPs facilitate the verification of information without disclosing the underlying data, thereby enhancing privacy in transactions and identity verification processes. Meanwhile, SMPC enables collaborative computations while preserving the confidentiality of inputs, which is vital for industries such as finance and healthcare. Despite their potential, these technologies encounter challenges related to complexity, scalability, and regulatory compliance. This study offers a thorough analysis of ZKPs and SMPC, their applications, and the ethical implications involved, providing valuable insights into their role in creating a secure and privacy-conscious blockchain ecosystem.

Robin G. Qiu

No abstract is available for this record.