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arXiv:1906.07221cs.CR

Why and How zk-SNARK Works

Maksym Petkus

Abstract

Despite the existence of multiple great resources on zk-SNARK construction, from original papers to explainers, due to the sheer number of moving parts the subject remains a black box for many. While some pieces of the puzzle are given one can not see the full picture without the missing ones. Hence the focus of this work is to shed light onto the topic with a straightforward and clean approach based on examples and answering many whys along the way so that more individuals can appreciate the state of the art technology, its innovators and ultimately the beauty of math. Paper's contribution is a simplistic exposition with a sufficient and gradually increasing level of complexity, necessary to understand zk-SNARK without any prerequisite knowledge of the subject, cryptography or advanced math. The primary goal is not only to explain how it works but why it works and how it came to be this way.

arXiv comments
65 pages
Journal reference
DOI
Subjects
cs.CRCryptography and Security cs.DMDiscrete Mathematics math.AGAlgebraic Geometry

On Hacker News

Linked by 3 identifiable commenters in 5 comments across 5 threads, from Apr 2020 to Mar 2025. Found in 3 HN submissions from Oct 2020 to Jul 2023. Open submission discussions.

Comments linking this paper, per year.

Discussed in comments5 threads

  1. Show HN: CodeTracer – A new time-traveling debugger implemented in Nim and Rust 1 comment

    • This paper is a great resource if you're unfamiliar with zk-SNARK and how it works: Why and How zk-SNARK Works (2019) https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.07221

      michaelsbradleyView on HNParent context

  2. The Handwavy Technobabble Nothingburger of Crypto 1 comment

    • For Ethereum, there's Tornado Cash[1] and other projects based on zk-SNARK[2] or similar tech. I'm not sure if there's a fully decentralized equivalent for Bitcoin. [1] https://tornado.cash/ [2] Why and How zk-SNARK Works: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.07221

      michaelsbradleyView on HNParent context

  3. Zero-Knowledge Proofs 1 comment

    • Another nice resource for understanding zk snarks that I found easily digestible was this paper that was shared on hn a few months ago[0]. https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.07221 [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24815649

      clashmeifyoucanView on HNParent context

  4. An Incomplete Guide to Ethereum Rollups 1 comment
  5. Ask HN: What scientific phenomenon do you wish someone would explain better? 1 comment

    • I liked this PDF that starts with using modular arithmetic to prove knowledge of polynomial, using bilinear EC pairings to make it self and then, finally, encoding computations as polynomials: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1906.07221.pdf

      krczView on HNParent context

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