Zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs) are becoming one of the hottest trends in the blockchain and cryptography world in 2021. This new technology, which is a type of cryptography, can be used to validate the Bitcoin blockchain without downloading 500GB worth of data from the system. Aiming to make this technology accessible to all, Swiss non-profit ZeroSync Association and Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream have announced that they intend to broadcast Bitcoin zero-knowledge proofs from Blockstream’s satellite.

These zk-proofs work by providing cryptographic validation of information without revealing the information itself. This way, all participants don't need to individually download the current 500GB of data required to validate the Bitcoin blockchain and can sync in mere seconds rather than hours or days. Blockstream’s satellite network provides global accessibility of Bitcoin and offers a way to scale Bitcoin by broadcasting to areas with unreliable internet. The first experiment of this large-scale project is expected to take place by the end of 2021.

ZeroSync Association was officially launched on Tuesday this week with the goal of taking Bitcoin global by using zero-knowledge proofs (zk-proofs). The co-founder of ZeroSync Association, Robin Linus, stated that “The security of Bitcoin requires every participant to verify every transaction. That didn't scale well until now. Proof systems like STARKs have been invented. Applying them to generate a proof of Bitcoin's chain state, and broadcasting it via satellite, can bring Bitcoin to almost everyone in the world.” With these new advancements in technology, Bitcoin has the potential to reach a larger audience with secure as well as reliable validation.



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