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# System prepended metadata

title: 'Potential ZK Research Topic # 2'

---

# Potential ZK Research Topic # 2

## Research proposal #2

## Sandbox

- Inspired by the ZK-Sharding docs written by Billy
- To narrow down the scope and make it be suitable for being a PhD-level research topic
    - Our target is `An Efficient Inter-Blockchain Asset Exchange Mechanism Based on IOTA`
- Limitations
    - No SCs is considered to simplify the topic
        - Only systematic flow is proposed
    - Only a few necessary operations need to be considered, and we assume they can be executed in L1
        - We assume in the future those ops can be included in the SCs
    - Which operations need to be considered are included in the research topic
        - We can based on pre-defined assumptions to simplify the integration of the operations and the L1
        - Assume the ops can be executed in L1

- Why we need the ZK
    - Privacy
        - To shield the transaction
            - e.g., Zcash
    - Scalibility
        - O(log2(n)) proof size
        - Compression
            - Implies smaller cost
        - Prover running time is closer to linear
- Note
    - tx might not be traceable if only compressed proof is stored on chain
    - might take 1 hour or so to collect a batch of txs and submit to provers to generate a proof

- What to research
    - Design an efficient interface for data trasmission between different blockchains
    - Data should be capsulized by using a ZK technique
    - Dataflow
        - Data from different blockchains <-> **interface** <-> ZK rollup/zkEVM execution in IOTA L1
- References
    - Existing ZK benchmarking framework/system study
        - Related to the Topic #1, surevey ZK open-sourced libs for experiments
    - [Zcash](https://z.cash/technology/)
    - [Uniswap](https://uniswap.org/)
    - [PancakeSwap](https://pancakeswap.finance/)
    - [Loopring Adds ZK Proofs For Faster DEX Technology](https://cryptobriefing.com/loopring-adds-zk-proofs-dex/)
    - [Scaling a DEX with Zero-Knowledge Proofs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUop0pVsCsI)
    - [Overview of Zero-Knowledge Blockchain Projects](https://blog.chain.link/zero-knowledge-projects/)
    - [ZEXE: Enabling Decentralized Private Computation](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9152634)
    - [ZK-Rollups Guide: ETH Scalability — and Why It’s the Next Big Narrative](https://learn.bybit.com/blockchain/zk-rollups-eth-scalability/)
    - [Loopring](https://loopring.org/#/)

### Question & Answer

#### An Efficient Inter-Blockchain Asset Exchange Mechanism Based on IOTA
1. Ideal
    - There is an efficient and secure decentralized asset exchange (which includes the data validation process) mechanism between IOTA and other blockchains. It is considered efficient, compared to the state-of-the-art, because:
        - It has short proof sizes
        - Its verification times are short
2. Reality
    - There's no generic inter-blockchain communication mechanism, or they have many restrictions/limitations.
3. Implications of conserving the reality
    - We only have centralized solutions.
    - IOTA cannot communicate with another blockchain.
        - For example, there's no DEX for IOTA-ETH exchange.
    - In Ethereum, e.g., the asset exchanges need to follow the same standard (e.g., ERC-20) and implement the smart contract.
4. Proposed Solution
    - Interface mechanism using ZKP techniques to be implemented by different blockchains will provide security guarantees (token ownership, data validity, SC execution validity, etc.).
    - Interface will specify API, data format, proof algorithms, etc.

#### General Questions
- What is the problem that this research will solve?
    - How can we leverage the reality-based ledger to implement DEX on it?
- Why is this problem so important?

#### Technical Questions
- You propose that the "interface" is an interface between IOTA L1 and others. Then, I assume IOTA will be the settlement layer. So,
    - Currently there is no SC execution on IOTA L1. Without having a proper L1 SC execution, how can one work on an interface?
    - If there will be a EVM-compatible SC execution, why to focus on IOTA instead of a generic blockchain (that supports SC)? If we need it *only* because we are from IOTA, a better and more scientific way could be to use IOTA as an example case.
    - Will being a DAG have any effect on this interface? Or will the interface ignore the data structure and consensus approach?
- Interface
    - Is it an interface between any two blockchains, or an interface between a specific blockchain (e.g., IOTA) and all others. This question is relevant because Billy's zk-sharding idea assumes no hierarchy. The platform itself is a collection of interfaces.
- Why do we need ZK?
    - Which problem does ZK solve here?
    - What would we lose if we have the same interface without?
