Oleg Andreev, Software Engineer for Stellar Development Foundation in the Stellar Engineering Talks, spoke about the Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine.

The Zero Knowledge Virtual Machine (ZKVM) related to the project Slingshot is the experimental multi-asset blockchain architecture, which is focused on the architecture for scalable and confidential smart contracts. 

Oleg Andreev in the Stellar Engineering Talks explored ZKVM, where it is, where it is going, how to use it and what it means for the future of the blockchain, and why it is interesting.  This is one of the advanced side of Stellar.

The blockchain protects private information, while being a public system.  Effectively, the goal of ZKVM is a ledger with TLS, which makes it possible to send Money from A to B privately, in public.

Confidentiality is sustained by encrypted balances and accounts. 

Sydney Ifergan, the crypto expert, tweeted:  “Stellar Lumens XLM Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine ensured People are not creating Money out of no Where. Thus, representing true value.”

Stellar Lumens (XLM) Zero-Knowledge Proof

The public verification is done by zero-knowledge balance proof.  The public verification mechanism is important for proving that the encrypted transfers are correct in respect of the transaction, thereby ensuring that people are not creating Money out of nowhere.  Thus ensuring the transactions are true and correct by virtue of zero-knowledge proofs.

They are mostly decentralized and deployed widely, and as many applications as users run them and to check the transactions. And, this means it is really hard to upgrade the system with new features or improvements. So, we need to, on the one hand, make it as simple and focused as possible, and so it is not bulky. Still, at the same time, we want to build some interesting features around the system from smart contracts to whatever like the decentralized applications to improve the security of the people transacting in the same environment.

And, one way to roll out network upgrades, which is as hard as it is decentralized.  We are, on the other hand, looking at some transition points so people can build things on top of it without changing the underlying rules. We need some sort of portability for our system, and if it is programmable and there are problems, it means there is some sort of virtual machine that is going to execute.  So, this is where the Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machine comes in to play.

By virtue of custom conditions, the transactions are made programmable; this is important as the blockchain as they are especially consensus systems.  It is about engineering, and more of it is available in the direct Engineering talk video.