ZK SNARKs

Panther also utilizes ZK SNARKs, which stands for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge.” Thanks to ZK SNARKs, and just like with ZKPs, a prover can prove their possession of information without revealing it. However, the added benefit of ZK SNARKs is that they allow this to happen without both parties interacting. This helps further users’ privacy and anonymity.

ZK SNARKs are:

• Succinct: The size of the proof is small compared to the size of the statement being proved.

• Non-interactive: ZK SNARKs do not require rounds of interaction between the prover and verifier except for a negligibly small probability.

• Argument: A weaker notion of a mathematical proof where we assume the prover has bounded computational resources.

• Knowledge: The prover cannot construct a proof without knowing a particular witness for the statement. This would be the equivalent of knowing “what to look for” or “what to decode”.

Specifically, Panther uses a pairing-based SNARK called Groth16.