Exploring Telos' SNARKtor Protocol: Insights from Alberto Garoffolo, Head of ZK Technology

Introducing Alberto Garoffolo, Telos' Head of ZK Technology, whose collaboration with IOHK promises to redefine blockchain scalability. In their recent White Paper, they unveiled the SNARKtor protocol, aiming to revolutionize zk-SNARKS technology. This partnership addresses the increasing demand for zk-SNARKS, crucial for shielding user data, boosting scalability, and ensuring blockchain interoperability.

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Picture this – you're making on-chain transactions, managing healthcare records, or bidding in auctions. Now, imagine doing all this without revealing sensitive information like your salary or medical history. That's the magic of zk-SNARKS – silent guardians of privacy in the blockchain realm.
But what sets SNARKtor apart? It's all about decentralization and efficiency.
Unlike traditional methods, SNARKtor aggregates proofs from multiple transactions into a single, compact package. This turbocharges blockchain performance, slashing verification times and ushering in a new era of blockchain innovation and accessibility.

For a comprehensive insight, we had the privilege of speaking with the brains behind it all, Alberto Garoffolo, Telos' Head of ZK Technology, to uncover the intricate workings of zk-SNARKs within the Telos ecosystem.

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What is the main goal of the collaboration between Telos and IOHK as outlined in their recent White Paper on blockchain scalability?

Given the ever growing need of zk-SNARKS in the blockchain space for example to protect users data, enhance scalability and allow interoperability, it’s evident that the current blockchain systems need a more scalable way for verifying SNARKs proofs.

Starting from this need we jointly worked on the design of a fully decentralized protocol that can massively scale ZK proofs verification in blockchains.

Could you explain the practical applications of zk-SNARKs in simple terms and how they impact blockchain technology?

Zero Knowledge plays a crucial role in enabling use cases where user data protection is fundamental in applications like Payroll, Business payments, Voting, Auctions, Healthcare applications and many others.

Looking ahead, the need for compliance with national regulations is becoming fundamental in decentralized applications and digital identity will assume a pivotal role in every transaction. Zero-knowledge proofs will play a crucial role in striking a balance between privacy and regulatory adherence.

Furthermore, the fusion of zero-knowledge principles with Artificial Intelligence holds immense potential allowing AI models to be employed without the need for on-chain execution.

Last but not least one notable application is the implementation of zkEVM rollups, which leverage zero-knowledge proofs to facilitate scalability by compressing transaction data while retaining its validity.

What sets the SNARKtor protocol apart from previous approaches to zk-SNARK verification, and why is it considered groundbreaking?

SNARKtor is a completely decentralized protocol leveraging recursive proof composition to aggregate many proofs for different transactions into a single unique proof. The transactions can be totally unrelated (e.g., some transactions can use ZK for protecting user data privacy, some for compliance purposes, and others using ZK to validate a zk-rollup state update) and may even utilize different proving systems.

The resulting proof could be verified on chain more efficiently having a constant verification time independent from the number of aggregated proofs.
"This not only enhances the scalability and efficiency of a blockchain system but also makes it more feasible for use cases that require low latency, removing the need for expensive proof wrappings."

Alberto Garoffolo, Telos' Head of ZK Technology
The protocol is designed to potentially inherit the level of decentralization of the underlying chain, incentivizing an ecosystem of actors to cooperate together in all the protocol phases. The design also introduces a new fast proof gossiping protocol that can be used by the network to furtherly scale the throughput.

How does the integration of zk-SNARKs through the SNARKtor protocol benefit developers and enhance usability within the Telos ecosystem?

By integrating SNARKtor the Telos ecosystem will unlock most of the real world use cases that are currently not possible for technological and fees cost limitations. This will directly provide benefits for developers and users providing the possibility to implement secure and compliant decentralized applications with low transaction fees.

How does Telos plan to integrate zk-SNARKs into its ecosystem?

We are planning to integrate zk-SNARKs in various ways. To illustrate, one approach involves integrating the SNARKtor protocol and zkVMs to facilitate the development of applications that protect users' data.

Specifically, developers will be able to utilize a commonly used high-level language to write the logic that ensures the privacy of users' data, while the SNARKtor protocol will handle the proof aggregation and submission process in a fully decentralized manner. Furthermore, we are incorporating zkEVMs to enhance the scalability of the Telos chain.

What are the specific challenges that zk-SNARK technology addresses in terms of scalability, privacy, and interoperability within blockchain technology?

As mentioned previously, zk-SNARKs will play a fundamental role in all these scenarios. To make an example, consider an application where a user needs to prove that he is above a certain age. In traditional public ledgers, the data required to satisfy an application's logic must be publicly available on the chain.

In our example, without zk-SNARKs, the user would need to publicly share his digital identity on-chain, including, for instance, his birth date. However, by employing zk-SNARKs, the user no longer needs to disclose the data, as he can cryptographically prove statements about his private data and then share the proof, which will be verified on the chain.

How do you foresee the integration of zk-SNARKs through the SNARKtor protocol impacting the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology and its various applications?

Blockchain mass adoption is currently hindered by the absence of tools that effectively safeguard users' data privacy while ensuring compliance in a scalable, decentralized, and robust manner. The integration of zk-SNARKs through the SNARKtor protocol offers a promising solution to these challenges.
"By leveraging zkVMs alongside the SNARKtor protocol, we have the potential to address these obstacles, potentially unlocking numerous real-world use cases."

Alberto Garoffolo, Telos' Head of ZK Technology
This advancement could significantly contribute to the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology by providing the necessary security and privacy assurances for broader applications.