Anaxi Labs has formed a strategic partnership with CyLab, the cybersecurity and privacy institution at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), to develop a groundbreaking proof system designed to enhance security and scalability within Zero-Knowledge protocols. This collaboration aims to address a longstanding issue in the domain of blockchain technology; balancing zero-knowledge claims with robust security and scalability has historically proven to be a complex challenge.
The need for such advancements is particularly pressing in regulated sectors including finance, healthcare, and artificial intelligence (AI), where the uptake of blockchain infrastructure has been slow due to these concerns. However, the partnership between Anaxi Labs and CyLab seeks to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology across these industries.
Recently, researchers at CMU published a paper outlining a novel methodology that allows for the direct compilation of high-level software into lower-level representations required for effective proof systems. This innovative process is described as automated, repeatable, and auditable, significantly reducing the need for manual labour while maintaining the integrity and security of operations. Riad Wahby, an assistant professor in CMU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, elaborated on the initiative, stating, "This idea of breaking the computation into very specific chunks that take the place of a CPU in an automatic way is a new approach, and this is the first time that somebody has attempted this kind of approach where we avoid the full program representation for the compiler."
In addition to resolving the compromise dilemma in Zero-Knowledge systems, the newly developed infrastructure will facilitate the creation of decentralised applications across diverse industries without necessitating modifications to existing codebases. This functionality is expected to empower sectors like finance and healthcare to implement systems that uphold the high standards of efficiency and security essential for their operations while addressing the critical requirements of security, decentralisation, and scalability.
Kate Shen, co-founder of Anaxi Labs, emphasised the far-reaching implications of their research, asserting, "This research and the product we are building incorporating the research will have profound implications for many important industry applications today that need a safe solution for their massive performance overheads, such as ZK and EVM, finally bringing us to the doorstep of our vision of cryptographically-secured decentralised consensus with real-time settlement."
With CyLab's extensive expertise in advanced research, which has been instrumental in the development of blockchain technologies, including Zero-Knowledge protocols, this partnership is poised to lead a new wave of innovation in proof systems that could pave the way for significant enhancements across multiple sectors. Notable faculty at CyLab, such as Professor Bryan Parno and Assistant Professor Riad Wahby, lend their support to this initiative, which is already being seen as a potential game-changer in the realm of blockchain applications.
Source: Noah Wire Services