The next generation of zero-knowledge technology arrives at ZCash with the Halo 2 proving system — eliminating the trusted setup in Zcash and improving scalability and interoperability.

Electric Coin Company expressed:  “These technologies aren’t just going to change a few things; they’re going to change everything.”

What is Halo 2 Proving System?  The Halo 2 zero-knowledge proving system has been invented and developed at Electric Coin Co. (ECC). It focuses on eliminating the trusted setup, thus reducing the attack surface of the Zcash protocol, eventually improving assurance about ZEC supply integrity.

What is a zero-knowledge proving system? A zero-knowledge proof or zero-knowledge protocol in cryptography refers to a method in cryptography where one party, which is the prover, will be able to prove to another party who is the verifier that they are aware of what is the value of x, without delivering any information apart from the fact that they are aware of the value of x. The core idea of zero-knowledge proofs is to prove a detail without revealing the actual information or giving any additional information.

What is a trusted setup? Why should it be eliminated? Trusted setup refers to an initial set of parameters created, and these will be destroyed later. This is done to establish trust in the first place, and the destruction is to avoid using these parameters for future illicit gains.

What is the attack surface of the Zcash protocol? There are different types of attacks like the 51% attack, Domain Name System (DNS) attacks, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, consensus delay due to selfish behavior, or distributed denial of service attacks.  There are other kinds of attacks like orphaned attacks, stale attacks, privacy attacks, smart contracts attack, blockchain forks, and a range of different attack vectors – all of these hamper the routine functioning and growth prospects of the network.

What is improving assurance about ZEC supply integrity? Potential users and adopters of Zcash should have supply integrity. When the supply schedule is extremely predictable, it is immune to manipulation. The assurance of 21 million eventually, 10.5 million in the first four years, half as fast of an issuance rate after each halving, etc., triggers confidence in the supply of the tokens.

Change in supply schedule by burning coins will artificially limit supply to pump the price, thereby creating manipulation. Supply integrity is therefore maintained by ensuring predictability of the supply.