Epicenter brings you in-depth conversations about the technical, economic and social implications of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Every week, we interview business leaders, engineers academics and entrepreneurs, and bring you a diverse spectrum of opinions and points of view. Epicenter is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy and Felix Lutsch. Since 2014, our episodes have been downloaded over 8 million times.
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episode 499: Zac Williamson & Joe Andrews: Aztec - Privacy-preserving, hybrid ZK rollup
In order to achieve true transaction privacy, it is not enough to encrypt or build ZK proofs for transaction bundles, as long as the underlying blockchain uses an account-based model. Aztec is building a ZKVM that superposes an UTXO model, so that balances are constantly updated as new, untraceable, log entries. The upcoming Aztec 3 aims to enable privacy-preserving smart contracts, using a hybrid, multi-layered rollup. This approach allows for both public and private smart contracts to be executed simultaneously.
We were joined by Zac Williamson & Joe Andrews, to discuss the evolution of Aztec, from ZK Money to their upcoming privacy-preserving hybrid ZK rollup.
Topics covered in this episode:
- The evolution of Aztec, from ZK money to Aztec 3
- How Aztec’s ZKVM ensures privacy for Ethereum transactions
- The need for UTXO model for privacy-preserving encrypted databases
- Interacting with public smart contracts in a private manner
- Technical roadmap and challenges faced along the way
- How Aztec differs from Mina protocol
- Recursive proofs
- Estimating gas
- Main-net sequencer decentralisation
- Goblin Plonk
- The future of programmable privacy
Episode links:
- Zac Williamson on Twitter
- Joe Andrews on Twitter
- Aztec on Twitter
This episode is hosted by Felix Lutsch. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/499