Zerocoin to zk-creds: Modern ZK History with Ian Miers

In this episode, Anna Rose and Nico Mohnblatt catch up with Ian Miers from the University of Maryland, starting with his work on seminal ZK blockchain research, Zerocoin and Zerocash and the creation of the first zk-focused blockchain project Zcash. They then explore the history of trusted setups, including the trusted setup bug discovery in Zcash, and subsequent improvements like Powers of Tau. Ian also discussed his work on ZEXE, a system that has inspired the formation of Aleo, and his more recent works: zk-creds for building flexible anonymous credentials from existing identity signals like passports, and zk-promises for supporting anonymous reputation, moderation, and callbacks in decentralized systems. They also touch on broader topics like post-quantum security considerations, sybil resistance, and the need for programmable privacy tools.   Related Links Ian Miers: Academic profile and publicationsZerocoin: Anonymous Distributed E-Cash from BitcoinPinocchio: Nearly Practical Verifiable ComputationZerocash: Decentralized Anonymous Payments from BitcoinZcash: Privacy-preserving cryptocurrency based on Zerocash protocolZexe: Enabling Decentralized Private ComputationPowers of Tau Ceremony: Zcash Foundation's multi-party computation for secure zk-SNARK parametersPowers-of-Tau to the People: Decentralizing Setup Ceremonieszk-creds: Flexible Anonymous Credentials from zkSNARKs and Existing Identity Infrastructurezk-promises: Anonymous Moderation, Reputation, and Blocking from Anonymous Credentials with CallbacksDecentralized Anonymous CredentialsSonic: Zero-Knowledge SNARKs from Linear-Size Universal and Updatable Structured Reference StringsQuadratic Span Programs and Succinct NIZKs without PCPs DECO: Liberating Web Data Using Decentralized Oracles for TLSSNARKs for C : Verifying Program Executions Succinctly and in Zero KnowledgeScalable Zero Knowledge via Cycles of Elliptic Curves(BCTV14)Sean Bowe on SNARKs, Trusted Setups & Elliptic Curve Cryptography      If you have a few minutes, we’d love to get to know you better and hear your ideas for the ZK Podcast. You can anonymously complete the feedback form here.   ZK Whiteboard Sessions is an educational video series produced by ZK Hack. It is focused on the building blocks of zero knowledge technology. Find season 3 of the Whiteboard Sessions as well as previous seasons here.     **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