Introduction As Ethereum emerged to provide smart-contract functionalities that the Bitcoin network could not support, Ethereum competitors rose to provide alternatives to its lingering problems. So-called “Ethereum killers” may pride themselves on being novel ideas but, until now, most of their success is largely attributed to the limitations of the

Consensus, execution, data availability, and settlement are said to be the four primary functions of a blockchain network. When a blockchain network executes all four of these functionalities in its base layer, it’s called a monolithic blockchain. Whereas, if a blockchain network handles only a few out of the

"Short like bullets, yet offering bulletproof security assumptions". With these words, Shashank Agrawal's named the technology that played an essential role in stabilizing blockchain privacy solutions. Although Agrawal's epic caption meant that this new technology earned the name bulletproofs, it does not explain why they’re safe, useful, and necessary

If you are familiar with cryptography, computational protocols, and distributed systems, you must surely have encountered the phrase 'trusted setups'. Trusted setups are integral to the optimal performance of several cryptographic protocols like zero-knowledge proof systems. Yet, some users of these systems may have trouble understanding the complexities going on

zk-SNARKs and zk-STARKs permeate almost everything zero-knowledge in blockchain. Here's all you need to know to understand how they differ.

We’ve come a long way from smart contracts to sidechains and rollups before reaching zkEVM technology as the potential solution to the blockchain scalability problem. This problem has been at the core of most of the blockchain innovation we’ve seen in the past couple of years. Without sacrificing

It is no secret that the crypto space has witnessed tremendous growth in the past few years. DeFi protocols, NFT collections, ZK-rollup projects and everything in between have made a debut since the ICO era. Meanwhile, the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies has yielded massive upwards price action and a greater

More than one user has wondered what are hash functions, a term usually thrown around the more technical crypto circles. The word 'hash' may evoke memories of meat and potatoes, chopped and mixed. However, food is the last thing on the menu. With hash functions, computers take center stage. Hash

While it looks like rocket science when you first come across it, the concept of a zero-knowledge proof is not as confusing as it seems. In fact, it can be summarized as digital accountability.

There are no clear Bitcoin competitors when it comes to value-oriented blockchains. Bitcoin has over 180 million users, and the network averages hundreds of thousands of daily transactions, facilitating cross-border payments. However, as more people regard Bitcoin as a full-fledged digital asset akin to gold or real estate, the question

There is much debate around KYC/AML practices in crypto. However, few know how technological developments might forever change them.

Nowadays, ring signatures and zero-knowledge proofs (as well as their close cousin, zkSNARKs) are two of the most used and known privacy enhancing technologies applied to cryptocurrency. And, as cryptography is the heart and soul of the crypto scene (and the only reason scarce digital goods are possible), this is

If you are acquainted with the everyday actuality of the crypto space, you surely have heard of staking. You likely also hold some staking misconceptions that need to change ASAP. Besides being one out of several ways to earn passive income in crypto, staking is a vital piece of the

MEV (Miner Extractable Value) is deemed both a problem and a feature of blockchains. Here’s our guide to understanding and dealing with it.

Is Bitcoin traceable? Short, answer: yes. Long answer: It’s complicated. Here’s how to access privacy in crypto.