Aleo’s Computing Environment
zkCloud
Cornerstone for decentralized, private computations
Decentralized, Private Computing
zkCloud
With its features, zkCloud provides a solution to the privacy dilemma of Web 2.0 and eliminates existing tradeoffs between privacy and programmability of current blockchains. Presently, blockchains either prioritize privacy (such as Zcash) at the expense of programmability, or the other way around.
So far, there exists no blockchain that is able to offer both. Aleo’s zkCloud provides the solution to programmable privacy.
Understanding zkCloud
The interactions between two or more parties are linked via shielded transactions within zkCloud to the Aleo blockchain. Included in the transactions is cryptographic proofs that verify the validity of the interactions. Not included is any information about who participated in the transaction, where it was executed or which program was used. The Aleo blockchain can then be referenced to cryptographically verify the state of an application.
Users can run zkCloud apps either locally or delegate the task to a third-party proving-service. Such services then construct proofs and submits transactions for the users.
How zkCloud works
Typical public blockchains are characterized by the fact that program execution happens on-chain in a global “virtual machine” (VM). Every node in the network runs this VM, which means that each node will have to re-compute each step of a given program – and collectively agree on it. The underlying architecture of this is inefficient and increases costs for end-users considerably while reducing speed. The virtual machine needs access to all the relevant information as a result of being collectively run by each node in the network, which limits any realistic option of privacy.
Aleo’s zkCloud esparates application runtime from the state maintained by its blockchain, thus overcoming above mentioned limitations. In combining its zkCloud with zero knowledge proofs, Aleo enables true privacy in combination with full programmability.
zkCloud separates computation from state, enabling it to provide unlimited application runtime. This approach helps developers to create far greater and resource-intense applications than are possible with on-chain execution models, such as Ethereum where runtime is limited by “gas.”