Earlier, ZEROBASE announced a $5 million funding round to build a real-time zero-knowledge (ZK) prover network that provides privacy protection and decentralized computing infrastructure. The round was led by Binance Labs, Lightspeed Faction, and dao5.
Could you briefly introduce yourself and what ZEROBASE does?
Hello everyone, I’m Mirror Tang, CEO of ZEROBASE and a professor of cryptography at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. My research focuses on cryptographic engineering and security issues in blockchain. Lately, I’ve developed a particular interest in the interaction between social and technical aspects of collective decision-making. At ZEROBASE, I strive to balance performance, security, and technical freedom within our ecosystem. Security and data-driven decisions have numerous applications in distributed ecosystems; they help prevent data validation errors, service interruptions, or rollbacks, safeguard funds, and enhance the sustainability of the overall economic model.
The ZEROBASE project was established in March 2024, evolving from the Salus Security cryptographic security group. Back then, we were working on cryptographic tasks for PSE (Ethereum Foundation’s cryptography team). To meet the growing demand for proof acceleration services, we expanded it into an independent project, which is now ZEROBASE — a real-time ZK proof acceleration network designed for speed, decentralization, and compliance.
We offer free circuit development services and paid proof generation services, along with circuit templates and commercial licenses for zkLogin, zkDarkPool, and zkVote systems. With a deployment fee of just $1,000, you can transform your project into a ZK-enabled one, addressing privacy and security concerns in conventional scenarios. We write circuits in Circom and use Gnark to accelerate proof generation, enabling agile development and rapid iteration. Through the ZEROBASE proof network, the efficiency of circuit proof generation is approximately 120 milliseconds per million Circom proof constraints (per RTX 4090). We also undertake general commercial circuit development and provide decryptable circuit frameworks for privacy compliance.
What is ZEROBASE’s vision? What core problems does it aim to solve?
ZEROBASE’s vision is to become a leader in the fields of privacy-preserving computation and trustless finance, addressing the trusted privacy challenges of existing blockchains.
As a distributed ledger, blockchain is entirely transparent to all users, which leads to the exposure of sensitive information to the public. For example, JSON Web Tokens used for wallet logins in social media can easily lead to identity leaks or replay login attacks once shared with project parties. Transaction order information from DEXs and AMMs is often exploited for market manipulation. If hedge fund trading strategies are exposed, it could severely impact profitability. These types of data should be strictly protected rather than becoming “open secrets” on transparent ledgers. ZEROBASE aims to leverage privacy-preserving technologies so that users can safely use blockchain without worrying about data leaks, all while maintaining the core advantages of transparency and trustlessness.
One significant example is ZEROBASE Staking, a core application scenario that directly benefits users. For instance, in the currently popular CeDeFi, institutional-grade arbitrage profits are shared with retail investors. However, a direct issue is that users cannot audit the financial status of accounts, creating a high-risk black box. Using CEFFU may ensure that your funds aren’t transferred, but liquidation risks remain. Forcing audits would hinder trading teams from employing optimal strategies.
ZEROBASE’s verification method simplifies this for users. Trading teams’ strategies and operations are fully encrypted externally, but users can invoke a verification program that uses exchange account APIs to generate zero-knowledge proofs. This ensures that arbitrage strategies do not involve excessive leverage, overly concentrate funds in a single asset, or hold unhedged positions. These proofs are generated within ZEROBASE’s TEE prover network, ensuring no information leaks. Achieving such a balance of information is precisely the direction we strive for—“Don’t trust, verify.”
What is the technical architecture of the ZEROBASE prover network, and how does it differ from competitors?
Our competitors can be categorized into two main types. The first type adopts a consensus-based model similar to Layer 1 (L1) blockchains. In this model, proof generation speeds are constrained by block production and aggregation times, making it unsuitable for high-speed proof generation requirements. The second type uses a centralized architecture, where all nodes must send heartbeat signals to a central Hub to remain online. The Hub records all node information, but as the number of nodes grows, the Hub’s load increases, becoming a system performance bottleneck. If the Hub goes offline, the entire system halts.
To address these issues, ZEROBASE introduces a distributed architecture that divides nodes into multiple subsets, with each subset managed by an independent Hub. Adding more Hubs effectively distributes the load, ensuring smooth operation even as the number of nodes grows. This architecture avoids single points of failure and enhances system fault tolerance and scalability. Using a consistent hashing algorithm, nodes and Hubs are mapped to a virtual circular hash space. Each node identifies the nearest Hub based on its hash value, which then manages it. This design minimizes the impact of reassigning nodes when adding or removing Hubs, as only a small portion of nodes need reassignment, leaving others unaffected.
Scalability and Fault Tolerance
To address data skew issues (where some Hubs are overloaded while others remain idle), ZEROBASE introduces a virtual node mechanism. Each Hub is mapped to multiple virtual nodes, further balancing the load. This ensures a more even node distribution and effectively avoids reverting to a centralized structure. As the number of nodes increases, adding more Hubs distributes the load, preventing any single Hub from becoming overburdened. If a Hub fails, its nodes are reassigned to other Hubs, allowing the rest of the system to function normally.
How does ZEROBASE balance privacy protection with compliance requirements?
ZEROBASE achieves a delicate balance between privacy protection and compliance through its verifiable partial decryption commitment technology. This approach ensures that user data remains fully encrypted under normal circumstances and allows authorized trusted institutions to perform partial decryption only when specific conditions are met. This design safeguards user privacy while meeting compliance requirements. The key aspects of this mechanism include:
Encrypted Data Submission
Sensitive user information is transformed into Commitments (encrypted data), known only to the user. For example, in lending scenarios, a user’s credit data is encrypted into a Commitment. The user generates a zero-knowledge proof to demonstrate the legitimacy of the submitted information—such as meeting a required credit score—without revealing the specific score or original data.
Authorized Decryption Mechanism
If exceptional circumstances arise (e.g., loan default), the system activates the circuit’s “partial decryption” function. Using a “decryption key” (trapdoor) embedded within the Commitment, trusted institutions can decrypt only the necessary information, such as the default amount or related liability, without exposing the user’s complete data. The circuit also includes auditing functionality, logging all decryption activities on-chain to prevent abuse. Trusted institutions must provide valid proof when using the decryption function, ensuring that each operation is transparent and compliant.
ZEROBASE functions like a “privacy vault,” where only the critical information can be retrieved at critical moments using the correct “key.” This mechanism enables ZEROBASE to meet both privacy protection and legal compliance needs in complex scenarios, such as financial lending, tax auditing, and asset liquidation, striking a balance of security and transparency.
What major application scenarios or industries does ZEROBASE support?
ZEROBASE’s technology has a wide range of applications across industries such as finance, identity verification, decentralized trading, privacy-preserving credit scoring, and cross-border healthcare. In essence, it’s about zk + everything. Here are some key scenarios we currently support:
Finance
● Hedge Funds: ZEROBASE’s technology allows verification of investment strategies against risk limits without exposing strategy details. This provides investors with risk assurance while protecting the fund’s core secrets.
● DeFi: Our zkDarkPool provides enhanced privacy for large-scale trades, preventing market manipulation and front-running by bots, and offering stronger protection for smaller tokens as well.
Identity Verification
Our zkLogin technology is quite innovative. Users can verify their blockchain accounts using login credentials from platforms like Google or Facebook without risking privacy breaches. This solution already supports StarkNet and has partnered with TOMO Wallet, offering users a more secure and seamless experience.
Cross-Chain Bridges
ZEROBASE’s technology is also instrumental in cross-chain scenarios. For example, the Tiga processor specializes in verifying block information across cross-chain bridges, improving both security and efficiency.
Addressing Vulnerable Groups
● Privacy-Preserving Credit Scoring: In the U.S., credit scores are critical. If someone faces bankruptcy or lacks a credit score, they often encounter a cycle of hardship—unable to rent housing, get an address, or find work, relying solely on welfare. ZEROBASE developed a privacy-preserving credit scoring system for low-income populations in Arizona. It uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify work records and generate reliable scores, helping individuals secure opportunities without relying on traditional FICO scores.
● Cross-Border Healthcare: In partnership with Northern Arizona University, we’ve applied privacy-preserving asset proof technology to enable overseas patients to verify their financial assets in their home country, facilitating medical credit approvals abroad.
Core Mission
Whether in finance, trading, or assisting everyday people, ZEROBASE leverages ZK technology to solve privacy and trust challenges.
What specific benefits can users and developers gain within the ZEROBASE ecosystem?
One of the greatest benefits for users in the ZEROBASE ecosystem is earning long-term returns by participating in ZEROBASE Staking. Users can stake ZB tokens to support the network’s security while enjoying substantial yields from the combination of ZK and CeFi. Additionally, staking allows users to engage in governance voting, directly influencing critical decisions for ZEROBASE. For developers, 10% of the total ZB token supply is allocated to support network expansion, partnerships, and application deployment. Moreover, our Proof of Mining program rewards early adopters of ZEROBASE applications based on initial network usage.
Has ZEROBASE secured funding or established partnerships with industry institutions?
Yes, our investors include Binance Labs, Lightspeed Faction, dao5, Matrix Partners, IDG, and more. We are also grateful for the support of the U.S. National Science Foundation, Ethereum Foundation, Starknet, NVIDIA Inception Program, and Microsoft & OpenAI Startup Founders Program. Without their support, ZEROBASE wouldn’t have achieved its current development. Many of our investors and sponsors are also our customers and partners. Furthermore, we have received extensive backing from Salus Security’s clients.
How does the team address potential regulatory pressures?
The ZEROBASE team recognizes that privacy-preserving technologies often attract regulatory scrutiny. From the outset, compliance has been an integral part of our system design. A recent example is the Tornado Cash case, where sanctions were partially lifted due to its immutable infrastructure. This highlights that regulators do not inherently oppose privacy technologies but demand transparency and traceability when necessary.
Proactive Collaboration with Regulators
We actively engage with regulators to explore privacy technology applications within a compliant framework. Our verifiable partial decryption commitment technology was developed with this goal in mind. It is built around decryptable circuits, where user data is encrypted by default and can only be partially decrypted under specific conditions (e.g., user authorization or legal requirements) using special keys. This ensures that privacy protection is upheld without creating untraceable systems that could be exploited.
Neutral Positioning as Infrastructure Provider
ZEROBASE positions itself as a neutral provider of privacy computing infrastructure. Our technology is designed to safeguard user privacy and security, not to facilitate illegal activities. By aligning with compliance frameworks, we avoid becoming a focal point for regulatory conflicts.
What role do you think ZEROBASE will play in the future blockchain ecosystem?
One of the core challenges in blockchain technology is balancing trustlessness with privacy protection. ZEROBASE, through its innovative architecture—such as distributed networks, virtual node mechanisms, and verifiable partial decryption commitment technology—not only enhances the efficiency of privacy protection but also provides solutions for compliance. Whether in financial transactions, identity authentication, or complex cross-chain bridge verification, our technology ensures data privacy while meeting regulatory and business needs.We will continue optimizing developer tools and support to help them quickly build privacy-preserving applications based on ZK technology. Our network enables Circom and Gnark code to generate proofs in milliseconds, delivering unprecedented efficiency for developers.
As the CEO of ZEROBASE, I firmly believe we will play a pivotal role in the future blockchain ecosystem as both a provider of privacy computing infrastructure and a standard-setter for trustless finance. Our mission is to empower a wide range of use cases with zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technology, ensuring that blockchain can protect privacy while maintaining transparency and trust.
About ZEROBASE
ZEROBASE is the most competitive ZK prover network across speed, cost, and security, and the only one that protects your privacy.