Aleph Zero aims to solve the issue of privacy, a key financial industry problem. The broader goal of Aleph Zero is to give individuals true ownership of their data through private smart contracts. Many blockchains struggle with maintaining privacy. Not only is it easy to trace addresses, but many smaller blockchains.
AZero aims to give users privacy while maintaining security, low cost, scalability, and speed. Aleph Zero accomplishes this through a two prong approach: zero knowledge proofs and secure multi-party computation (sMPC). By remaining a public blockchain, everyone has equal access to the information stored on the chain. Additionally, every user can potentially take part in establishing consensus.
A Zk-SNARK is a zero-knowledge proof protocol used in encryption. ZK-SNARKs allow the prover to produce concise proof that convinces the verifier that the “prover” is performing only correct computations on its data. This verification occurs without revealing any information about the “prover.” Nothing about the “provers” personal data is revealed to the verifier. Zk-SNARKs are incredibly efficient and secure.
The second prong is secure multi-party communication. This involves keeping sensitive information off-chain on several nodes. In order to access the data the nodes would have to interact and conduct a secure “handshake.” Moreover, no single computer can access the data without unanimous consensus.
On its own, multi-party computation is slow, and ZK-SNARKs are incapable of dealing with multi-user interactions and cannot achieve a global private state (a state owned by a smart contract that would be updated after any of the users transacts with it). These two prongs complement each others weaknesses. ZK-SNARKs make it possible to quickly allow for basic transfers , and multi-party computation can be used to implement a global private state (e.g a DEX that doesn’t need to reveal the value of each transaction. Together ZK-SNARKs and multi-party computation achieve high level security with speed.
#AlephZero’s Liminal offers this solution. Liminal offers added security and privacy measures and serves as a portal to other blockchains. Liminal will support transactions between platforms with bridges to Aleph Zero, including Ethereum, Near, Kusama, Cosmos, and more.
One of Aleph Zero’s features is its consensus protocol. AZERO merges Proof of Stake with Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs). It takes advantage of a heavily modified variation of the PoS consensus methodology in conjunction with Directed Acyclic Graphs.
At its core, Aleph Zero uses a PoS consensus algorithm. AZERO’s DAG acts as an intermediary in the creation of its blockchain. Using DAGs allows for faster transaction speeds and higher throughput. This results in significantly lower transaction fees. The low cost of the technology makes it feasible for mass adoption
Aleph Zero’s privacy blockchain allows for many use cases:
- Internet of things
- Smart contracts
- Supply chain management
- Virtual game assets
- Decentralized DNS…
- Universal wallet and DEX
- Asset digitization
- Notary signatory
- Transparent Public document access
- Automatic tax payment
- Databases
- Automatic payments and shared revenue agreement
A full list of use cases and in depth explanations can be found here: https://alephzero.org/wp-content/uploads/A0_BWP.pdf
The AZERO token powers Aleph Zero ecosystem:
- Get discounts on swap fees on Decentralized Exchanges.
- Get discounts on fees for asset-wrapping and use of Liminal bridge.
- Collateral for wrapped assets in Liminal.
- AZERO will be used for Validator node staking.
The team behind Aleph Zero looks solid. Based in Switzerland, the Foundation comprises of approximately 20 team members.
- @matthewniemerg (CEO) is a Simons-Berkeley Fellow, and an IBM Center of Excellence Fellow in High Performance Computing with comprehensive DLT experience.
Other important members include:
- @mateuszgorecki | Creative director
- Adam Gagol | Co founder, CTO
- @LukaszLachowski | Senior Developer
- Michael Swietek | Co foundeerr, CPO
- Damian Straszak | Senior Develope
To summarize, Aleph Zero is a privacy blockchain. It focuses on maintaining the privacy of its users. The privacy aspect of our protocol has to do with the novel cryptographic solutions that have created a highly secure environment on which to trade and build. The privacy offered has led to many use cases. Aleph Zero is a really unique protocol that has a lot of potential. It’s definitely a project worth watching.
