Cryptographers have researched zero-knowledge proofs for two decades, but the technique is only just now poised to redefine the concept of online privacy.

"The idea of zero-knowledge proofs has been known to cryptographers for two decades, but it wasn’t until last year that researchers figured out what could be the technique’s killer app: a Bitcoin-based cryptocurrency called Zcash. Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to guarantee that transactions are valid despite the fact that information about the sender, the recipient, and the amount transacted all remain hidden. The power of the idea has major banks interested. JPMorgan Chase recently worked with Zcash to add zero-knowledge functionality to its own private Ethereum-based blockchain...

Cryptographers have researched zero-knowledge proofs for two decades, but the technique is only just now poised to redefine the concept of online privacy.

"The idea of zero-knowledge proofs has been known to cryptographers for two decades, but it wasn’t until last year that researchers figured out what could be the technique’s killer app: a Bitcoin-based cryptocurrency called Zcash. Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to guarantee that transactions are valid despite the fact that information about the sender, the recipient, and the amount transacted all remain hidden. The power of the idea has major banks interested. JPMorgan Chase recently worked with Zcash to add zero-knowledge functionality to its own private Ethereum-based blockchain...