Cryptocurrency transactions can be tracked from point to point because all transaction data is public. The transaction data needs to be public to ensure the financial integrity of the system, which is non-negotiable. So, given that we cannot get rid of transparency, how do we achieve privacy? In Bitcoin, one way to achieve privacy is […]
Category: cryptography
BIP-32, an explainer
BIP-32 is a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal that allows Alice to start with a single private key, and generate a series of private and public keys from it, where the public keys can be generated independently from the private keys. This is not as easy as it sounds, because in most public key crypto-systems, you can […]
Homomorphism
If Zero Knowledge Proofs are the kind of magic seen in a full fledged opera theater, Homomorphisms in Cryptography are like intimate card tricks done in a 1-1 setting. Less grand, less machinery at work, but elegant and counter-intuitive all the same. You hear about homomorphism in encryption first. They also appear in commitment schemes […]
This Before That
This article is ostensibly about why the challenge space in an interactive zero knowledge proof has to be large. Understanding this rather obscure theoretical aspect of zero knowledge proofs is quite rewarding intellectually. I promise. Let me start with a trivial question. How do you convince yourself that something happened before something else? Here’re some […]
Asymmetric power, reversed
What is power, really? Power comes about when someone has the ability to destroy someone else’s accumulated capital. What is capital, then? Capital Capital comes about as a result of raw materials, labour, and time. A healthy body, stored grains, a house to live in, a bank account with money earned through a job, or […]
Zero Knowledge
“Zero Knowledge”, contrary to what it sounds like, is actually quite interesting and fun. It might even be a solution to our long standing problem of validating the world’s transactions without a trusted third party or government or central bank. If you Google for the terms Zero Knowledge and Blockchains, you will be flooded with […]