A Survey on the Applications of Zero-Knowledge Proofs

[2408.00243] A Survey on the Applications of Zero-Knowledge Proofs Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Search arXiv Press Enter to search · Advanced search Computer Science > Cryptography and Security arXiv:2408.00243 (cs) [Submitted on 1 Aug 2024 ( v1 ), last revised 10 Apr 2026 (this version, v2)] Title: A Survey on the Applications of Zero-Knowledge Proofs Authors: Ryan Lavin , Xuekai Liu , Hardhik Mohanty , Logan Norman , Giovanni Zaarour , Bhaskar Krishnamachari View a PDF of the paper titled A Survey on the Applications of Zero-Knowledge Proofs, by Ryan Lavin and 5 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) enable computational integrity and privacy by allowing one party to prove the truth of a statement without revealing underlying data. Compared with alternatives such as homomorphic encryption and secure multiparty computation, ZKPs offer distinct advantages in universality and minimal trust assumptions, with applications spanning blockchain systems and confidential verification of computational tasks. This survey provides a technical overview of ZKPs with a focus on an increasingly relevant subset called zkSNARKs. Unlike prior surveys emphasizing algorithmic and theoretical aspects, we take a broader view of practical deployments and recent use cases across multiple domains including blockchain privacy, scaling, storage, and interoperability, as well as non-blockchain applications such as voting, authentication, timelocks, and machine learning. To support consistent comparison, we provide (i) a taxonomy of application areas, (ii) evaluation criteria including proof size, prover and verifier time, memory, and setup assumptions, and (iii) comparative tables summarizing key tradeoffs and representative systems. The survey also covers supporting infrastructure, including zero-knowledge virtual machines, domain-specific languages, libraries, and frameworks. While emphasizing zkSNARKs for their prevalence in deployed systems, we compare them with zkSTARKs and Bulletproofs to clarify transparency and performance tradeoffs. We conclude with future research and application directions. Comments: 30 pages, 7 figures, 11 tables Subjects: Cryptography and Security (cs.CR) ; Computational Complexity (cs.CC) Cite as: arXiv:2408.00243 [cs.CR] (or arXiv:2408.00243v2 [cs.CR] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2408.00243 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Submission history From: Hardhik Mohanty [ view email ] [v1] Thu, 1 Aug 2024 02:47:30 UTC (1,061 KB) [v2] Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:51:54 UTC (3,451 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled A Survey on the Applications of Zero-Knowledge Proofs, by Ryan Lavin and 5 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: cs.CR < prev | next > new | recent | 2024-08 Change to browse by: cs cs.CC References & Citations NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... 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