ZK/SEC Research notes from zkSecurity
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Proof is in the Pudding · Part 8 of 11

Archetype x zkSecurity - Proof is in the Pudding: Privacy in Payment Networks

ZK/SEC January 16, 2026 1 min educative · zk · privacy

For the 8th session of Proof is in the Pudding, we teamed up with Archetype to explore the fascinating world of privacy in payment networks.

There's no single best approach to privacy, but there's no shortage of interesting techniques that have been developed over the years to break linkability, hide addresses, and obscure transaction data. In this session, we take a comprehensive tour through the evolution of private payment systems, covering E-Cash, blind signatures, Bitcoin privacy, confidential transactions and Pedersen commitments, Mimblewimble, Monero, stealth addresses, ring signatures, MobileCoin and TEEs, Zcash, and Zether.

If you enjoy this video, check out our previous episodes:

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Checking the Checkers and Auditing the Ironwood FV

Cryptographic software is error-prone and failures are catastrophic, therefore formal verification is a powerful and increasingly practical tool for greatly improving the assurances of our cryptographic software. But who verifies the formal verification? Formal verification itself is software too, what is proved, under which assumptions and its relation to the real-world implementation lie beyond the scope of the machine-checked proof. In this post, we want to give some insights into our three-week audit of the Ironwood formalization and some of the common pitfalls that formal verification more broadly can encounter.

Mathias Hall-Andersen · October 05, 2026

Archetype x zkSecurity - Proof is in the Pudding: zkML

In Session 11 of "Proof is in the Pudding," we look at what it takes to prove model inference. We cover transformer computation, sumcheck, GKR, lookup arguments, quantization, and KV caching, then discuss scaling and possible uses for verifiable ML.

ZK/SEC · September 30, 2026

Intro to Clean for Devs.

We think that Clean is the future of circuit development, so we created a programmer-first introduction to show circuit developers who have never used formal verification how they can build circuits faster, safer and better.

Mathias Hall-Andersen · September 29, 2026
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Archetype x zkSecurity - Proof is in the Pudding: The Other Dark Forest (Offchain Public Keys)

In Session 07 of "Proof is in the Pudding," we explore the other dark forest, the realm of offchain public keys. We dive into zkLogin, ZK Email, and ZKPassport, examining how these protocols handle authentication and privacy. We also discuss the issue of unlinkability in privacy protocols and why replacing traditional signature verifications with zero-knowledge proofs could unlock more interesting and powerful ZK products.

ZK/SEC · October 21, 2025

Archetype x zkSecurity - Proof in the Pudding: Introduction to Data Availability (Sampling)

In the latest "Proof is in the Pudding" session, we team up with Archetype to break down the essentials of Data Availability Sampling. We dive into how rollups and Ethereum's DA system work, explore the role of DA chains, and touch on the basics of verifiable sharding. This introduction is perfect for anyone curious about the foundations of data availability sampling and how these concepts are playing out in the blockchain world.

ZK/SEC · October 02, 2025

Archetype x zkSecurity (Whiteboard Session) - Proof is in the Pudding: GKR and How to Prove False Statements

In our third whiteboard session with Archetype, we dive into the fascinating world of cryptographic protocols by breaking down the intricacies of the Fiat-Shamir security model and the GKR protocol. Whether you're a cryptography enthusiast or just curious about how these complex mechanisms enhance security, this is a chance to explore the theories with us in a friendly and digestible way. Don't miss the opportunity to expand your understanding of this cutting-edge topic!

ZK/SEC · February 25, 2025
More to explore

Renegade Audit: When ZK meets MPC

We recently had the pleasure of auditing Renegade's circuits and smart contracts, and it was a great experience. Over three weeks, our team explored their top-notch code and documentation, with the Renegade team providing awesome support throughout. Curious how it all went? Dive into our full report for the inside scoop!

ZK/SEC · July 22, 2024

Variants of KZG: Part IV, Multilinear Commitments with Gemini

In this blog post, we extend univariate KZG commitments to multilinear polynomials through Gemini. We introduce recursive partial evaluations, derive the split-and-fold identity and express each fold as a univariate identity that can be checked using KZG openings. We then walk through the end-to-end opening protocol. We conclude by examining its proof size, prover cost, and verifier cost.

Varun Thakore · August 12, 2026

Groth16, Intuitively

Groth16 is still the gold standard for succinct SNARKs: 128-byte proofs, constant-size verification, and a decade of real-world deployment. But despite its ubiquity, almost nobody explains *why* it works the way it does. In this post, we build Groth16 from the ground up, starting from R1CS and QAPs, then layer in pairings, trusted setup parameters, and the separator tricks (α, β, γ, δ) that make the scheme sound. By the end, you should have an intuitive grasp of every term in the final verifier equation.

David Wong · May 01, 2026