How We Did It: The First ZK Proof on Bitcoin - Edan Yago & Gadi Guy at Bitcoin Nashville #Bitcoin

Summary

At the Nashville Bitcoin conference, Bitcoin OS made a groundbreaking announcement by introducing zero-knowledge proofs to Bitcoin for the first time, enabling scalability to thousands of transactions per second, native private transactions, and sophisticated smart contracts without a soft fork. Guy, the CTO of Bitcoin OS, explained the interactive protocol and large Taproot tree used to achieve this, showcasing a real-world application with a zk-SNARK proof verified on the Bitcoin blockchain. This innovation opens doors for trustless layer 2 rollups and applications like decentralized exchanges and stablecoins, revolutionizing Bitcoin's capabilities to compete with Ethereum and other blockchains.

Takeaways

• 🎤 The conference is a significant event where major milestones in Bitcoin are announced, attracting a large crowd.
• 📣 High-profile figures like Trump and Elon Musk are expected to make announcements, adding to the conference's importance.
• 🔒 Bitcoin OS introduced zero-knowledge proofs for the first time in Bitcoin transactions, marking a technological breakthrough.
• 🚀 This innovation allows Bitcoin to scale to thousands of transactions per second without the need for the Lightning Network.
• 🔒 The introduction of zero-knowledge proofs enables native private transactions in the Bitcoin network.
• 🤖 Bitcoin can now support sophisticated smart contracts, broadening its capabilities.
• 🔄 The technology allows for trustless layer two rollups, enhancing Bitcoin's functionality to match other blockchain platforms like Ethereum and Solana.
• 🛠️ Guy, the CTO of Bitcoin OS, explained the technical process of integrating zero-knowledge proofs without a soft fork or new bip codes.
• 🌳 The team built a large Taproot tree and a new virtual machine optimized for elliptic curve cryptography to achieve the integration.
• 🔗 They also represented Merkel proofs to keep transaction sizes manageable, ensuring quick mining.
• 📈 The demonstration of the ZK proof verification involved an interactive protocol between a prover and verifier, with a costlier process for the dishonest party.
• 🔗 The final transaction was successful, and the team provided code on GitHub for the community to verify the proof's authenticity.
• 🔍 Future steps include turning the two-party protocol into a multi-party one for real-world security and building applications like trustless bridges and ZK rollups.

Q & A

What is the significance of the conference mentioned in the script?

The conference is significant because it is a place where major milestones in Bitcoin are announced, attracting a large crowd including notable figures like Elon Musk.

What technological milestone was introduced by Bitcoin OS recently?

Bitcoin OS introduced zero-knowledge proofs for the first time in Bitcoin transactions, allowing for scalability, privacy, and the introduction of smart contracts without needing a soft fork.

How does the introduction of zero-knowledge proofs impact Bitcoin's capabilities?

The introduction of zero-knowledge proofs allows Bitcoin to scale to thousands of transactions per second, have native private transactions, and support sophisticated smart contracts, making it competitive with other blockchain platforms like Ethereum and Solana.

What is the challenge of implementing ZK proof verification on Bitcoin?

The challenge is that a ZK proof verification program is very large and not practical to run on Bitcoin due to its limited scripting capabilities and inability to perform advanced math.

How did Bitcoin OS overcome the challenge of implementing ZK proofs on Bitcoin?

Bitcoin OS turned the ZK proof verification into an interactive protocol, creating a large Taproot tree with small chunks of the program that can be turned into Bitcoin script code.

What is a Taproot tree and how does it relate to ZK proof verification on Bitcoin?

A Taproot tree is a structure that includes all the small chunks of the ZK proof verification program. It allows for the smallest possible chunk of the program to be run as a Taproot leaf, making the proof verification practical on Bitcoin.

What is the virtual machine invented by Bitcoin OS for ZK proof verification?

The virtual machine invented by Bitcoin OS is specifically optimized for the math required by elliptic curve cryptography, allowing the ZK proof verification code to be ported and optimized for Bitcoin.

How does the interactive protocol involving the prover and verifier work in ZK proof verification?

The prover posts the proof to Bitcoin, and the verifier checks it. If the proof is incorrect, the verifier stakes funds to challenge it, and they begin an interactive protocol to resolve the disagreement. The protocol involves multiple steps and can be completed within a few blocks.

What is the consequence for the party that is dishonest during the interactive protocol?

If the prover is correct, they take the stake from the verifier. If the verifier is correct and the proof is wrong, the verifier takes the stake from the prover, ensuring that the dishonest party pays all the fees.

What are the next steps for Bitcoin OS in terms of ZK proof verification?

The next steps include turning the two-party protocol into a multi-party protocol for real-world security, building real-world applications with this technology, and developing trustless bridges between Bitcoin and other blockchains, as well as ZK rollups, smart contracts, decentralized exchanges, and stable coins.

How can interested individuals contribute to or learn more about Bitcoin OS's work?

Interested individuals can join the Bitcoin OS Telegram group, contribute as coders if they have the skills, and help develop the technology further by using the provided code on GitHub to verify the proof on the mainnet.