Xiao Wei Wang, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, said Ethereum is well on its way to a future where zero-knowledge cryptography becomes a core part of the network itself, reflecting years of research converging with real-world advances.
In a recent interview with CoinDesk, the director, who is one of the key developers in the design of Merge, described zero knowledge as part of Ethereum’s mid-term roadmap, noting that there have been “a lot of amazing progress” in the past year or two.
While more immediate upgrades continue to focus on running Layer 2 networks and improving the blob space, Wang, who will be speaking at CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong conference next month, said zero knowledge is becoming increasingly achievable as a protocol-level feature.
Incorporating Zero Knowledge into Ethereum tools was first introduced to the ecosystem around 2021, when Zero Knowledge rollups began to emerge as an alternative way to conduct transactions faster and cheaper than the Ethereum main network. These rollups bundle transactions off-chain and send cryptographic proofs to Ethereum, allowing users to inherit the security of the network while benefiting from lower fees.
Introducing zero knowledge directly into the core of Ethereum would change that dynamic. Simply put, the network can verify compact mathematical proofs that confirm that blocks were computed correctly. This could significantly reduce the work required to secure Ethereum and make it easier to scale without sacrificing decentralization or reliability.
Ethereum researchers have announced plans for a native zkEVM, allowing the network to use zero-knowledge proofs by default to verify transactions.
For Wang, this effort reinforces Ethereum’s long-standing priorities. “I think resiliency remains the soul of Ethereum,” she said, emphasizing security, censorship resistance, and neutrality as the network evolves.
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