Last updated 2 months ago
Soon, Cardano will be capable of verifying zero-knowledge proofs on-chain. This enables more robust and scalable smart contracts. There needs to be a high-level language for such smart contracts.
This is the total amount allocated to ZKFold Symbolic: a Zero-Knowledge Smart Contract Language. 3 out of 5 milestones are completed.
1/5
Implement basic types and basic operations with them
Cost: ₳ 40,000
Delivery: Month 1 - Apr 2024
2/5
Implement the Plonk on-chain verifier
Cost: ₳ 40,000
Delivery: Month 2 - May 2024
3/5
Create the zkFold Symbolic Cardano Library
Cost: ₳ 40,000
Delivery: Month 3 - Jun 2024
4/5
Implement variable-size types and operations with them
Cost: ₳ 40,000
Delivery: Month 4 - Jul 2024
5/5
Produce zkFold Symbolic documentation and a video guide to the product
Cost: ₳ 40,000
Delivery: Month 5 - Aug 2024
NB: Monthly reporting was deprecated from January 2024 and replaced fully by the Milestones Program framework. Learn more here
A new Haskell DSL for writing zero-knowledge smart contracts. Being a high-level language, it dramatically reduces the barrier to entry as the developers do not need to be experts in ZK cryptography.
No dependencies.
MIT license. The code will be available on GitHub.
ZKFold Symbolic is a Haskell DSL for writing zero-knowledge smart contracts on Cardano. It is a high-level language that abstracts zero-knowledge cryptographic protocols and lets developers build smart contracts in a familiar setting. The language syntax and semantics are not too different from other on-chain languages, particularly from PlutusTx.
Let us now discuss some technical details of the solution.
We believe there are at least four types of applications where the usage of zkFold Symbolic makes sense:
You can check the demo of zkFold Symbolic and follow our progress on GitHub.
Providing developers with a proper tool to tap into the power of zero-knowledge protocols enables them to create smart contracts and DApps that are on another level in terms of efficiency and user experience. Moreover, with more developers adopting this approach, we are reducing the on-chain data footprint and compressing user transactions, effectively scaling Cardano on layer one.
The zkFold team consists of expert Haskell, Rust, and ZKP developers. The founder of zkFold, Vladimir Sinyakov, previously completed a Project Catalyst Fund6 grant leading the ENCOINS team. ENCOINS is a DApp on Cardano that has been recently launched on the mainnet.
Reach the MVP stage.
With the language demo currently available on GitHub, we are currently in the pre-MVP stage. To advance to the MVP stage, we need to do the following steps:
Outputs and verification: the code is open-source and will be published on GitHub.
Enable variable-length types and folds/maps with a variable number of steps.
Proper implementation of these features requires the usage of advanced protocols, such as folding schemes, which represents a significant development effort.
Outputs and verification: the code is open-source and will be published on GitHub.
Create ZKFold Symbolic Standard Library.
To speed up the smart contract development in zkFold Symbolic, we will provide the developers with a set of commonly used operations on Cardano types.
Outputs and verification: the code is open-source and will be published on GitHub.
Develop a comprehensive test suite and example library.
A smart contract language needs a very thorough test coverage and a library of examples to make the learning process fast and efficient.
Outputs and verification: the code is open-source and will be published on GitHub.
Produce the completion report and the video illustrating the solution.
Outputs and verification: the report and video will be publicly available.
The zkFold team consists of expert Haskell, Rust, and ZKP developers. ZKFold's team members participated in the development of several successful projects on different blockchains, including Cardano, Polkadot, and Near. The zkFold team won the EMURGO BUILD Hackathon on the zero-knowledge track and took 3rd place in the Battle of the Builders at the Cardano Summit 2023 in Dubai.
Vladimir Sinyakov
Founder and CTO,
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimir-sinyakov/
Founder and protocol architect of ENCOINS. Ph.D. in Computational Mathematics. Prior experience includes five years of postdoc in applied mathematics (Control Theory), publishing in top journals in the field. Previously completed a Project Catalyst Fund6 grant leading the ENCOINS team. ENCOINS is a DApp on Cardano that has been recently launched on the mainnet.
Stanislav Marycev
Co-founder, Business Development.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislav-marycev/
Cardano Blockchain Certified Associate (CBCA). Blockchain technology and smart contracts certified, Project Management Professional (PMP) and agile professional with 12+ years of experience in worldwide IT projects.
Ilya Eriklintsev
ZKP researcher,
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilya-eriklintsev-3a296852/
Techlead at vSelf, an SSI solution on NEAR blockchain. More than six years of experience in the blockchain industry. Former researcher in Computational Fluid Dynamics.
Vladimir Kukharenko
Developer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimir-kukharenko-vovunku/
Participated in a blockchain infra project on Polkadot. Worked on developing a blockchain from scratch and an API for it as a part of a formally verified blockchain project. Two years of experience in the blockchain industry. Researcher in formal verification and formal methods.
Sergey Ivannikov
Developer
Experienced as a senior software engineer in various IT companies. A former researcher at ETH Zurich in Computational Fluid Dynamics.
Cardano Types and Common Operations Development: 75,000 ADA
1 software developer @ $3,000 per month for 6 months = $18,000 (~45,000 ADA)
1 software developer @ $3,000 per month for 4 months = $12,000 (~30,000 ADA)
Zero Knowledge Protocols Development: 75,000 ADA
1 software developer @ $3,000 per month for 6 months = $18,000 (~45,000 ADA)
1 ZKP researcher @ $3,000 per month for 4 months = $12,000 (~30,000 ADA)
Documentation, Project Management, and Protocols Design: 50,000 ADA
1 technical writer @ $2,000 per month for 2 months = $4,000 (~10,000 ADA)
1 software developer @ $3,000 per month for 2.6 months = $8,000 (~20,000 ADA)
1 project manager @ $1,333 per month for 6 months = $8,000 (~20,000 ADA)
Total: $80,000 = ~ 200,000 ADA
The project requires a deep understanding of the Cardano smart contracts as well as expertise in zero-knowledge cryptographic protocols. As we have to pay competitive salaries to our developers and researchers, we've arrived at the budget breakdown above. Ultimately, the project's cost is on par or below compared with other notable Developer Ecosystem projects on Cardano.