How does ZK promote the security of encrypted assets to a higher level｜Foresight Talking "Dialogue with the Founder" series record

zkLink’s mainnet version 1.0 will be launched within a month, and users can trade spot assets; in the next two to three months, users will also be able to use different on-chain funds to trade perpetual contracts; the second half of Q4 or In Q1 next year, it is planned to launch NFT trading products.

Moderator: Frank, Researcher, Foresight News

Speaker: Vince Yang, co-founder of zkLink

*"Dialogue Founder" is the "Founder" series Forsight Talking AMA launched by ForesightNews. The founders of each project will share their entrepreneurial experience, development experience, industry knowledge reserve, financing process, follow-up product market plan, etc. in the live broadcast room . If you are interested in a project/founder, you can leave a message under our official Twitter (@Foresight_News) and @计划方founder, we will screen the most popular founders and invite you to our Twitter Space to interact closely with you. *

The guest we invited in this issue is Vince Yang, the co-founder of the multi-chain trading infrastructure zkLink. Not long ago, zkLink just completed a financing of 10 million US dollars. A new approach to security.

**Frank: First of all, Vince would like to introduce zkLink to you. When was it established, what is it doing now, and what products have it launched? **

**Vince Yang:**The product we are building is the first multi-chain ZK Rollup protocol on the market, mainly using ZK technology to build a multi-chain unified transaction infrastructure, the goal is to improve the existing decentralized trading products Various pain points, build and support the next generation of decentralized exchanges, including order book exchanges, including homogeneous tokens and non-homogeneous tokens (NFT), NFT trading markets, etc.

**Frank: The positioning of zkLink is "multi-chain transaction infrastructure based on zero-knowledge proof", so what role does zero-knowledge proof technology play in it? **

Vince Yang: The entire zkLink protocol adopts a classic ZK Rollup architecture. We have made a certain degree of innovation on the classic ZK Rollup architecture, the most important of which are two aspects.

The first aspect is that we are not only connected to Ethereum, but also connected to multiple first-tier blockchains and second-tier networks, including Ethereum’s side chains, such as the well-known BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, etc., and now A very popular Ethereum expansion solution - ZK Rollup is a general-purpose expansion network, including the well-known zkSync, Starknet, Scroll, Linea, etc., as well as Polygon's ZK expansion solution Polygon zkEVM.

At the same time, we are also connecting to some non-EVM public chains, such as Solana. In fact, we have completed more than 95% of the development work, and open sourced the first ZK verification contract on Solana, but this verification contract has not yet been implemented with us. Because it only supports a relatively simple algorithm called Groth16, which is a relatively lightweight ZK verification algorithm, and the current Solana blockchain main network does not support more complex ZK verification algorithms .

The algorithm we are using now is called the PlonK algorithm, which belongs to the category of zk-SNARK, that is, the entire network and protocol of zkLink are similar to the familiar ZK general expansion network on the market, but there is a big difference in architecture, because we connect There are multiple first-tier and second-tier networks, there are many fund entrances, and the state of the unified state machine is sent to these different blockchains for synchronization and verification.

Therefore, we have more capital entrances than other general-purpose expansion networks, and can also directly interact with assets and liquidity on these different ecological blockchains. When users use our products, they will find that on the protocol layer, they can directly trade assets in different ecosystems and use one wallet to manage assets from different blockchains, which is very different from the current decentralized trading experience , because most DEXs now actually only have liquidity pools on one chain, even though DEXs like Uniswap and SushiSwap are deployed on many chains, but in fact their deployment on other networks such as Ethereum and BNB Chain Not connected, but independent of each other.

For example, even though they both have USDT, the two USDT are actually different, and the two pools of different networks cannot be merged during the transaction. At the same time, during the transaction, you need to use different wallets to operate different networks, especially like EVN networks and such networks as non-EVM networks. For Solana, you must first download their own wallet. The MOVE ecosystem may flourish in the future. It also has its own set of address systems and specific wallets. For users, the more blockchains they are exposed to, the more they need to download This is a pain point in user experience**, but we want to improve this problem so that users can trade and manage multi-chain assets with one click, which will be a major improvement in user experience.

The first aspect is that zkLink will integrate a smart contract wallet that supports user social account login, namely account abstraction (AA). This will provide users with a seamless trading experience, similar to the experience of using mobile phone numbers, emails or social accounts to log in for transactions on centralized platforms.

On the protocol layer, users can use one account and address to manage assets on multiple different blockchains without managing private keys, because different smart contract wallets have different underlying solutions. If MPC technology is used, the user's private key can be Shard management, and social recovery rules can be set. In this case, the user's migration cost and learning cost are greatly reduced, and the entry barrier is also lowered.

At the same time, due to the adoption of ZK technology, the security is completely consistent with the current on-chain products such as Uniswap, because although the ZK protocol creates an off-chain transaction execution environment, the shared security is still on-chain. The validity of transaction execution is guaranteed by the mathematical method of zero-knowledge proof, which means that all fund changes and transaction execution are finalized on the chain, and share the consensus security of the main chain.

If you only connect to the Ethereum chain, it is as safe as Ethereum itself. If you connect to the side chain of Ethereum, such as BNB Chain, then it will be as safe as BNB Chain.

The security of multiple chains is somewhat different here, but in order to ensure security, we have adopted a trustless design. There are roles such as Sequencer and Prover in the transaction execution environment under the chain, which is the same as other expansion solutions. However, there is a third-party network called witnesses outside the chain, such as market makers or large investors, who can read data off the chain from different blockchain browsers, upload zero-knowledge proofs to the chain and this state Compare to see if they match.

If they are consistent, it can be guaranteed that the states on multiple chains are exactly the same, and the information they receive is also the same, which completely eliminates the risk of collusion among off-chain executors, Sequencers, etc., and on-chain transmission of false information . Because on Ethereum, you cannot directly read the deposit information on the BNB Chain, but in this way, you can ensure that the state root in the network is consistent with the unified state, ensuring that the risk of collusion is almost zero.

**Frank: Compared with other decentralized trading protocols, how does zkLink implement multi-chain transactions of encrypted assets, and how does the multi-chain architecture ensure security? **

Vince Yang: We were able to achieve this, fundamentally speaking, because of the adoption of zero-knowledge proof technology, which can guarantee security. In the industry, zero-knowledge proof technology is generally regarded as an impossible The reverse proof technology cannot be cracked by attackers.

Even the operator itself, that is, roles such as off-chain Sequencer, cannot deceive the verification contract on the chain. When uploading information to the chain under the chain, I need to generate a proof, which contains a prove key. The key is a one-to-one correspondence. If you are successfully paired, then the information you declared is true, and this state transition, including the change of your funds, is also true.

Based on this premise, we have introduced a multi-chain architecture, such as deploying the Rollup verification contract to multiple first-tier blockchains and second-tier networks. On these networks, it will receive unified state trees and transaction information from off-chain at the same time. Also includes a verification of a zero-knowledge proof.

If all these contracts can complete this proof, and the multi-chain consistency check passes, then the entire verification process can be completed. As long as the results executed and generated off-chain are returned to the chain, the result is completely correct, and this process is guaranteed to be safe, including the role of submitting data under the chain, and it is impossible for him to submit false data or forged certificates to deceive the public. Verify the contract, thereby attacking the contract.

That is to say, in this case, as long as the verification is passed and the specification can be met, the submitted information must be considered correct, which guarantees the safety of the verification process mathematically.

**Frank: We all know that zkLink has just completed a financing of US$10 million from Coinbase Ventures and others. So what will zkLink invest in? In addition to financial support, what kind of help will these investment institutions provide to zkLink? **

Vince Yang: Our investment in this round is mainly based on US funds, including SIG, one of the largest shareholders of ByteDance, which has invested in many Web2 projects. But they dabbled in the Web3 space a few years ago and invested in many infrastructure and transaction-related projects. In addition, there is a top trading team "Efficient Frontier" from Israel, and some small trading teams from the United States.

This round of financing is mainly used to support the rapid launch of the mainnet, and promote the development and launch of more products so that more teams can adopt the protocol. **At the same time, we are also considering incentives for launching the mainnet at the right time. TGE may be done, but there are no definite plans yet. **

The biggest overhead should be in the development itself, and may support some early adopters, especially in the early development, the consumption of software and hardware is very large, and cloud resources need to be used. The “Dunkirk” test we are doing recently is actually a very expensive test, because we need to consume a lot of cloud computing resources every day to generate products to help users recover their funds.

Now because there are many people participating in this activity, it is roughly estimated that 60,000 to 70,000 people have participated in this activity, because zkLink has already connected to 7 chains, and each chain has more than a dozen different assets. It is necessary to generate a zero-knowledge proof when recovering such assets, and the computing resources consumed by generating a temporary proof are considerable.

If we want to help all users recover all funds, we need a lot of computing resources. This test requires us to increase a lot of computing power, and also needs to purchase a lot of hardware, including GPU, which is quite expensive. In the future, we may adopt some new hardware acceleration schemes, such as acceleration schemes based on FPGA or AGIC chips. We will follow the pace of market development and purchase these hardware acceleration solutions at an appropriate time to ensure that the computing power of our network is strong enough to support high-performance transactions.

As for how our investors will help us, it is obvious, because our main investors are from North America, and there is a fund from Europe, Ascensive Assets, which is one of the largest cryptocurrency funds in Europe. one.

Investors in these different regions will help us build a local partnership network and introduce our products, protocols and technical solutions to the people around them; secondly, they will also help local users understand our protocols earlier and Our product advantages; in addition, investors will help us introduce upstream and downstream partners, such as smart contract wallets, and some specific products based on our agreement, such as NFT trading market and DEX.

Although we know that the encryption community is globalized, there are still obvious regional characteristics throughout the development process, so it is easier for projects from the Asia-Pacific region to quickly expand in the local network. If we have North America, Europe, the Middle East and India Local partners in different markets will help us reach local communities and users earlier and let them know about our products earlier. In addition, investors may also help us with user education, contact local media partners and exchange partners, etc.

**Frank: In the previous Twitter Space, we discussed zkLink’s first user fund disaster escape test "Dunkirk". Can Vince introduce "Dunkirk" to you again? What kind of user groups does it target and what practical significance does it have for the encryption industry? What is the final vision? **

Vince Yang: "Dunkirk" is a very interesting test. It is the first project party to withdraw voluntarily and let users withdraw all funds stored in the agreement since the development of this industry. An interactive and fun test, we planned to shut down the testnet on May 11th, from then on, users will not be able to use applications on zkLink, and the team will remain silent.

That is to say, under extreme conditions, such as the disappearance of the team and the closure of the agreement, the funds previously stored in the contract can still be withdrawn. With this test, we hope to give users a hands-on experience that when their funds are stored in a protocol, they can still get their funds back even if the team disappears and the protocol is shut down.

There have been some recent security incidents in the zkSync ecosystem, which may contain low-level code mistakes and malicious behavior. If a project passes this test before going live, as long as it does not change the code, users need not worry about this happening. In addition, this "Dunkirk" exercise is based on the technical characteristics of ZK, and other ZK project parties can also do it. By completing this test, they can ensure that the security of the protocol is 100% ready, even if the network goes down or other events occur, User funds are also 100% recoverable.

For users, we hope that through this test, users can understand that even in any emergency situation, users cannot predict when a catastrophic security incident will occur. Therefore, when choosing projects and products, users should consciously Look for products that offer 100% custody and 100% recoverable funds**. Even those projects that seem to be very advanced and safe in concept may not be ready in terms of engineering and practice. Only after they have been tested can they be regarded as 100% ready.

Therefore, we hope that more projects can be added to the "Dunkirk" test standard. Even though there may be some slight differences in actual operation, the concept of "Dunkirk" should be known and understood by more people. As long as the entire industry works together to promote security testing and drills like "Dunkirk", the degree of decentralization of the entire encryption product, especially transactional products, will become higher, and these products related to user funds will also become more secure. Safety, this will be a higher self-discipline and requirement. If everyone can adopt this standard together, there will be fewer attack incidents, and it will be difficult for many bridges and Rug Pull projects to appear because they cannot pass this test.

**Frank: We also saw that zkLink started the "Dunkirk" test 24 hours earlier than the original plan. What is the reason for this? **

Vince Yang: This is an interesting topic. We originally planned to shut down the network at noon today, but we suddenly thought of the FTX event during brainstorming.

When the FTX incident happened, they didn't inform anyone. The whole process developed very fast, without notice, and even at the last moment, many people believed that they would not go out of business. In the encrypted world, there are many surprises, and users cannot predict which platform will have problems in the future. Therefore, we hope to simulate accidents and disasters in real situations through this unexpected shutdown. We hope to make this test more impressive to users. We hope that everyone can experience that in the encrypted world, no one will notify you in advance of what will happen Things, if something bad happens, it must happen suddenly.

Therefore, we need to be ready at all times, always pay attention to risk management and capital security, and put them in a very high position. We conducted the "Dunkirk" test 24 hours in advance, also taking these factors into consideration.

**Frank: Are there any other encryption projects willing to join the "Dunkirk" project? How will zkLink promote the communityization of "Dunkirk" in the encryption industry? **

Vince Yang: We do plan to make the "Dunkirk" test into a series, and have received positive responses from some projects. Some wallet projects are being planned and tested. We agree and are very positive about this idea and concept.

At the same time, we will also conduct more "Dunkirk" tests in the future, including major upgrades and important content additions. If I have major updates, such as adding other blockchains to the network, I may consider doing a new "Dunkirk" again. "Testing, let everyone feel that even if some codes are changed, new functions, new assets and new products are added, it is still safe.

Now we have spot transactions, and there will be derivative transactions in the future, especially for derivatives, because they themselves have many complex business logics, such as operations such as liquidation, clearing and forced liquidation, so in the event of a catastrophe, What are the calculation rules for the withdrawal of funds, all of which need to be tested and verified, especially when complex financial logic is involved, the processing of funds will become more complicated. So we may roll out new tests and use them in other project communities.

Now, especially in projects that are 100% self-hosted and 100% secure, there should be enough incentive to adopt the "Dunkirk" test standard. Of course, these projects may be technically adjusted, because they may have different characteristics of the product itself, but "Dunkirk" emphasizes catastrophic withdrawal, that is, no matter when any event occurs, your funds are 100% safe and It can be retrieved, and I believe that everyone can also look forward to seeing the second "Dunkirk" test in the near future.

**Frank: What is the follow-up plan and roadmap of zkLink, which directions are being promoted, and is there any development plan for the next stage that can be disclosed? **

Vince Yang: First, let me introduce our current situation. We have been running on the test network for more than 12 months. Our earliest product is a multi-chain Curve. For example, you can use the Curve on the BNB Chain USDT buys USDC on Ethereum, which is still in beta. The product we are launching is an order book exchange, which has been connected to 7 chains, and spot trading has been tested for more than 10 months, very stable and silky smooth.

In the next quarter, we will launch the derivatives exchange function. Users can use assets from 7 different chains as margins to open positions under a unified account. For example, users who have assets such as ETH and UNI on Ethereum, or assets such as BNB and CAKE on BNB Chain, can recharge them into the zkLink protocol, and use all multi-chain assets as margins for derivative transactions. The investors are very friendly and can greatly improve the efficiency of capital use.

At the same time, in the next 1~2 months, we will complete the access of all ZK general two-layer network ecology**. Currently, zkSync, Scroll, and Linea have been connected, and Starknet and Polygon zkEVM are being developed and connected. Each ecology has hundreds or more projects and has its own local assets. We hope to aggregate all assets in these ecology so that they can be connected to the zkLink network. Each of these ecology will have a large amount of capital deposits. Aggregate in one place and become the trading platform with the best liquidity in the entire network, because the most important thing about the trading infrastructure is to provide high-performance transactions and the best liquidity.

When all the big ecosystems are opened up, users will be very willing to use products here, because they can buy all the assets they want to buy in one stop, **We think that for a long time, the cross-chain bridge will still be a Very complex, difficult to use and insecure products. **

Of course, the field of cross-chain technology is developing very rapidly, and many new cross-chain technologies have emerged, such as technologies based on ZK and LayerZero. However, even if the cross-chain transaction itself is safe, the user experience is still not friendly enough. Because cross-chain transactions need to have Gas Token on two different chains, and need to use different wallets, and also need to pay relatively high cross-chain transaction fees, the whole process may also take a lot of time, especially for active users. For users on the chain, managing multiple wallets will be very troublesome. If users need to frequently move funds between multiple chains, the loss will be very large.

Therefore, we hope to create a unified trading layer, aggregate the assets of each ecology into one place, and provide sufficient liquidity. Users can put a large amount of funds in this layer and buy and sell the assets they want in DEX . **

For users, they prefer to use a wallet and store their funds directly in one place. We can also support users to obtain some income and make use of their idle funds. In addition, for high or heavy contract users , their multi-chain portfolio assets can be used as a margin to improve the efficiency of capital use.

At present, we are actively paying attention to all these large second-tier ecologies, and we will consider expanding to OP (Optimism and Arbitrum) and even MOVE ecologies in the future, as long as these ecologies are safe and flourishing, and we will also expand while accessing The applications that the transaction layer can support, from order book, NFT exchange, complex structured financial products (options), LaunchPad, wallet, etc., will be added step by step.

We ** expect that in about a month, zkLink's main network version 1.0 will be launched, and users will be able to trade spot assets on it; within two to three months, users will also be able to use derivatives and use different chains Funds are used to trade perpetual contracts; in the second half of Q4 next year or Q1 next year, we plan to launch NFT trading products, which is our general plan. **