History shows us how technology can expand personal freedoms, unleashing creativity and innovation, leading to progress and prosperity.
Early civilizations used bookkeeping and ledgers to track transactions, empowering individuals and communities to manage their finances and cooperate. The printing press democratized knowledge by making information affordable, sparking critical thinking and scientific advancement.
The Industrial Revolution, powered by the technological breakthroughs of the steam engine and mechanization, propelled unprecedented economic and societal prosperity.
In the twentieth century, the rise of cryptography and the Internet transformed communication and information access. This expansion of personal freedoms created economic opportunities for billions of people.
Today, we're at the dawn of a new era with blockchains and Web3. Like the Internet once did for information, Web3 is changing the landscape for digital ownership and value exchange. It offers promising new forms of societal organization, e.g. "network states" 1.
The journey through the waves of the cryptographic revolution is ongoing. With public-key cryptography and blockchains marking the first and second waves, we now face the third: the ZK Revolution. Coupled with Web3, the ZK Revolution is set to redefine our collective future, standing as testament to technology's power to unlock personal freedom.
"ZK" is a term with two meanings. Initially, it stood for "Zero-Knowledge (Proofs)", or, if you insist, "Zipped by Kryptography" 2. Today, "ZK" embodies a certain bigger idea, encapsulated in three properties: Integrity, Privacy, and Magic.
“Integrity is doing the right thing... even when no one else is looking or will ever know.” 3
ZK echoes the "don't trust, verify" ethos foundational to mathematics, open source, and blockchains. Computational integrity, enabled at any scale by recursive ZK proofs, is the cornerstone of this element.
“Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age.” 4
In the blockchain sphere, privacy, viewed as a fundamental right, poses challenges uniquely addressed by ZK. Privacy shouldn't be a gift given to us; it's a fundamental right we must assert and defend together.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” 5
ZK, endearingly dubbed "Magic Moon Math," is a marvel of technology. It makes the cumbersome simple, converting intricate operations into effortless clicks. It enables integrated systems, where components seamlessly synchronize. Above all, it weaves these wonders while honoring user privacy and control.
We believe that to serve as the foundation of the Internet of Value, decentralized networks must adhere to the following principles:
Trustlessness. Users must be able to verify the integrity of transactions and the network state independently, without relying on others.
Security. An attack on any individual user must be as difficult and expensive as attacking the entire network, even for the world’s most powerful actors.
Reliability. The network must consistently and correctly perform its function without failure.
Censorship-Resistance. Users must have the ability to transact on the network without needing permission from anyone.
Privacy. Users must be able to protect their identities and transaction details. Sensitive information is not shared with others in the network without the consent of users.
Hyperscalability. The network must have the capacity to grow with no upper bound while preserving all other critical properties.
Accessibility. Applications and services on the network must be as affordable, easy-to-use and safe as state-of-the-art centralized alternatives.
Sovereignty. Any group of users, even a minority, must have the right to exit — i.e., fork away from the network, while taking their assets with them at a minimal cost.
At present, Ethereum comes closest to realizing the vision of a blockchain network forming the backbone of the Internet of Value. It stands as a trustless, secure, reliable, censorship-resistant, and sovereign network. However, it currently does not meet the remaining prerequisites: privacy, hyperscalability, and accessibility.
Through ZK magic, Web3 on Ethereum can become a stronghold for privacy and achieve limitless scalability while maintaining integrity. In this transformative state, it will be an accessible and affordable sanctuary for digital self-ownership.
It aligns with the ZK vision and will empower individuals globally, regardless of location. By unlocking these capabilities, a new wave of freedom, progress, and prosperity, will impact lives globally.
ZK Principles empower a network where trust in operators is not needed to secure users' assets and control. Even if the Lord Voldemort had access to our servers, they couldn't harm users' ownership or control their assets.
However, technology evolves and so do blockchains. The ZK Principles can’t be fully safeguarded through technology alone. To ensure lasting protection, the community must deeply embrace the elusive concept of decentralization.
If a network possesses all the mentioned attributes but its governance falls into the hands of a privileged few, it is destined to fail. Such few will tweak the rules for personal gain, eroding network value. The Internet’s history serves as a cautionary tale. Its inception promised decentralization, but over time user data and traffic fell into the control of a few tech giants, shaping the digital landscape to their advantage.
To avoid this fate, we believe that the ZK community must be fiercely sovereign by elevating the right to exit into a moral obligation. When the network deviates from its principles, the community must unite and uphold these values by migrating to a new network.
Identifying such an erosion of values is not trivial: oppression is often subtle, slowly chipping away at freedom. Oppressors may also publicly punish dissenters to instill fear and encourage collective inaction.
Against these tactics, collective action is essential. The community must protect minorities and celebrate those who bravely defy oppression. To embed this collective commitment deeply in the community is vital to preserving freedom in the Internet of Value.
Realizing these principles requires time and perseverance. A steady, pragmatic approach to decentralization is needed. While short-term compromises might be made, the unwavering long-term vision remains: advancing personal freedom for all.
Let us remain resolute in championing digital self-ownership.
Onward.
Footnotes
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Charles Marshall, Shattering the Glass Slipper. ↩