The real-world application of ZK proofs in blockchain: from theory to practice

These Projects Are Changing the Rules of Blockchain Gaming

An invisible performance revolution is underway within the Ethereum and other public chain ecosystems. Behind names like Loopring, ZKsync, and Immutable X lies a shared technological core—zero-knowledge proofs.

Loopring is the most aggressive in decentralized trading, capable of compressing hundreds of transactions into a single one, significantly reducing Ethereum’s gas fees while maintaining transaction speed. Zcash takes a different approach: using zero-knowledge proofs to completely hide the sender, receiver, and amount of transactions, which is a real necessity for privacy-conscious users.

Filecoin uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify storage integrity, allowing users to prove they have stored files without exposing the original data. Immutable X focuses on the NFT space, leveraging the same technology to make in-game asset transactions lightning-fast and free.

What Exactly Do Zero-Knowledge Proofs Do?

Simply put, zero-knowledge proofs allow you to mathematically prove that you know a secret without revealing what that secret is.

Imagine you need to enter a membership club and must show proof that you’re an adult, but you don’t want to disclose your exact birth date. Zero-knowledge proofs solve this dilemma: you can prove “I am over 18” while hiding your actual birthday.

In crypto transactions, what does this mean? The system can confirm that a transaction is valid and funds are sufficient without seeing the transaction amount or participant addresses. This is achieved through a clever cryptographic technique called “commitment-challenge-response”—the prover leaves a digital footprint showing they passed the maze, but the maze’s route remains secret.

What Is Revolutionary About ZK Rollups?

Traditional scaling solutions involve making the blockchain process more data, but ZK Rollups take a completely different route: moving transaction processing off-chain.

The process works like this:

• Hundreds or thousands of transactions are bundled into a “rollup”
• Instead of simply reporting what happened, it generates a zero-knowledge proof
• This proof is sent to the Ethereum mainnet, declaring “I mathematically verified these transactions are valid”
• The mainnet accepts this proof, and all transactions are permanently confirmed

What’s the result? Ethereum’s transaction throughput can jump from the current 15 transactions/sec to millions per second. Gas fees drop from dozens of dollars to just a few cents. More importantly— the security and decentralization of the entire process remain intact.

Why Is This Technology Being Hotly Discussed?

Speed and Cost Double Win
Off-chain processing drastically reduces transaction fees and cuts confirmation times from minutes to seconds. This is a true game-changer for everyday DeFi operations and NFT trading.

Privacy Is No Longer a Luxury
Zero-knowledge proofs enable truly private DeFi lending—no need to expose financial history. Voting can also become genuinely anonymous. In today’s data-as-gold era, this is especially valuable.

Security Is Actually Enhanced
It relies on unbreakable mathematical proofs instead of third-party validation. This eliminates intermediaries and reduces attack vectors. The system becomes more decentralized without compromising security.

Ethereum Ecosystem Remains Intact
ZK Rollups only need to send proofs back to the main chain, without modifying Ethereum itself. This elegant design preserves all of Ethereum’s security and decentralization features.

Application Scenarios Already in Use

DeFi World
Imagine operating on a lending protocol like Aave, but your borrowing history, collateral amounts, and interest income are completely hidden from the public ledger. Zero-knowledge proofs make this possible. Users can prove they meet lending conditions without revealing their full financial data.

NFTs and Gaming
Immutable X allows game developers to handle massive NFT transactions, with each transaction nearly instant and free. This is a real infrastructure upgrade for blockchain games.

Healthcare
Hospitals can share medical data for research while protecting patient privacy. Patients can prove they have been vaccinated or undergone specific tests, while their medical records remain fully confidential. This complies with privacy regulations like HIPAA.

Supply Chain Traceability
Companies can prove the authenticity and circulation history of products without revealing costs, profits, or other trade secrets. This is especially useful for luxury goods authentication and pharmaceutical traceability.

Identity Verification
Passwordless authentication becomes possible—you can prove you know a password without ever transmitting it. Biometric authentication can also be performed without storing raw biometric data.

Forces Driving This Technology Forward

StarkWare has built the ZK-STARKs framework, emphasizing quantum resistance. Secret Network makes privacy a first-class citizen on the blockchain, with all smart contract data encrypted by default. Mina Protocol compresses the entire blockchain to just a few KB, enabling even smartphones to participate in validation.

Aztec Protocol focuses on DeFi privacy, supporting confidential loans and borrowing. ZKsync is renowned for seamless compatibility with the Ethereum ecosystem, greatly reducing developer migration costs. Hermez Network is optimized for high throughput and low-cost scenarios.

Real Challenges Facing the Technology Today

High Computational Costs
Generating and verifying zero-knowledge proofs still requires significant computation. This can be a bottleneck on resource-constrained devices.

Rapid Technological Evolution
Compatibility issues with existing blockchains, performance optimization, and security audits are ongoing. This is not a mature technology but a rapidly evolving one.

“Trusted Setup” Risks
zk-SNARKs require a one-time “trusted setup” ceremony to generate cryptographic parameters. If this process is compromised, the entire system could be at risk. zk-STARKs avoid this problem but at the cost of higher computational overhead.

Quantum Computing Threats
Although still distant, quantum computers could potentially crack current ZK-SNARK schemes. Researchers are developing quantum-resistant zero-knowledge proofs.

Centralization Concerns
While ZK Rollups are inherently decentralized, transaction ordering rights are concentrated among a few validators, which could pose governance issues in the future.

Regulatory Gray Areas
The privacy features make this technology susceptible to misuse for money laundering or tax evasion. A sound regulatory framework is still under exploration.

Lack of User Education
The complex cryptographic principles make it difficult for ordinary users to understand and trust this technology. Education on security is crucial.

Who Will Own the Next Decade of Blockchain?

Zero-knowledge proofs and ZK Rollups are not just flashy cryptography tricks—they are the key to solving the core contradiction of blockchain: how to significantly improve performance and privacy while maintaining decentralization and security.

This technology is moving from labs into production environments. What we see is: privacy and transparency are no longer at odds, efficiency no longer requires sacrificing security, and scaling no longer depends on centralization.

From a technical perspective, quantum-resistant zero-knowledge proofs are under development, and cross-chain applications are being explored. From an application standpoint—from DeFi to NFTs, from healthcare to governance—the use cases are exploding.

But to truly change the world, this technology still needs to address: more elegant user experiences, more complete regulatory frameworks, and broader public education.

This is not just a technological revolution but a fundamental rethink of how we protect privacy on transparent public chains and achieve high efficiency in decentralized systems. The winning strategy for the next generation of blockchain may well lie in these unassuming mathematical proofs.