History of Zero-Knowledge Proofs | with ZK "Godfather" Eli Ben Sasson

Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder and CEO of StarkWare, shares the personal and technical journey behind zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs)—a cryptographic breakthrough now central to blockchain scalability and privacy. His 2013 presentation at a Bitcoin conference near Stanford caught the attention of Greg Maxwell and catalyzed a decade of innovation that helped shape the ZK landscape.

Key Ideas

Origins of ZKPs in Blockchain: Eli’s early research laid the groundwork for applying ZKPs to blockchain. His work influenced privacy-first projects like Zcash, which used zk-SNARKs to enable shielded transactions.
Rise of zk-Rollups and Validity Proofs: ZKPs evolved from privacy tools into scalability engines. zk-rollups and validity proofs now power Ethereum Layer 2s, enabling faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions without compromising decentralization.
StarkWare’s Contributions: StarkWare pioneered STARKs—a transparent, quantum-resistant form of ZKP. These proofs offer scalability without trusted setups and are foundational to Starknet, a leading Ethereum Layer 2.
ZKPs and Bitcoin’s Future: Eli is now exploring how ZKPs could enhance Bitcoin, especially through proposals like OP_CAT and native Bitcoin staking on Starknet. This marks a shift from Ethereum-centric scaling to broader ecosystem impact.

Why It Matters?

ZKPs are no longer niche but essential infrastructure for scaling blockchains and preserving privacy. ZKPs unlock new business models by enabling trustless computation, data privacy and efficient verification. Understanding their evolution helps inform better protocol design and integration.