Commitment Scheme

Definition ∞ A commitment scheme is a cryptographic primitive allowing a party to commit to a chosen value while keeping it hidden, with the ability to reveal it later. This scheme operates in two phases, the commit phase, where a committer selects a value and computes a commitment, and the reveal phase, where the committer discloses the value and a proof that it matches the commitment. The primary properties are hiding, meaning the commitment does not reveal the value, and binding, meaning the committer cannot change the value after committing. It is a foundational tool in zero-knowledge proofs and secure multi-party computation.
Context ∞ Commitment schemes are vital for privacy and verifiable computation within blockchain and cryptographic protocols. News often covers their application in scaling solutions and privacy-preserving digital asset transactions. Ongoing research focuses on developing more efficient and secure schemes to support advanced cryptographic applications, enhancing the integrity of decentralized systems.

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→Prover Efficiency

→Homomorphic Commitments

→Proof System

Black-Box Commit-and-Prove SNARKs Unlock Verifiable Computation Scaling

Artemis, a new black-box SNARK construction, modularly solves the commitment verification bottleneck, enabling practical, large-scale zero-knowledge machine learning.

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→Proof System

→Prover Verifier Model

→ZK Circuit

Verifiable Temporal Commitments Secure Time Elapsed without Disclosure

Proof of Time is a novel cryptographic primitive that uses Zero-Knowledge proofs to verify elapsed time while preserving the confidentiality of the initial event's timestamp.

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→Trustless Setup

→Proof Aggregation

→Transparent Setup

Universal Commitment Schemes Achieve Optimal Prover Efficiency

A new polynomial commitment scheme enables optimal linear-time prover complexity with a universal, updatable setup, finally resolving the ZK-SNARK trust-efficiency paradox.

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→Recursive Folding Technique

→Polynomial Commitment Scheme

→Proof Generation Cost

Linear Prover Time Unlocks Optimal Verifiable Computation Scaling

Introducing FoldCommit, a new polynomial commitment scheme that achieves optimal linear-time prover complexity, fundamentally lowering the cost of generating large-scale zero-knowledge proofs.

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→Light Client Security

→Polynomial Interpolation

→Polynomial Commitments

Vector Commitments Enable Modular Blockchain Scalability and Asynchronous Security

A new Probabilistically Verifiable Vector Commitment scheme secures Data Availability Sampling, decoupling execution from data and enabling massive asynchronous scalability.

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→Commitment Scheme

→MEV Resistance

→Front-Running Mitigation

Cryptographic Fairness: Verifiable Shuffle Mechanism for MEV-Resistant Execution

A Verifiable Shuffle Mechanism cryptographically enforces transaction fairness, eliminating front-running by decoupling ordering from block production.

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→Computation Integrity

→Succinct Proofs

→Polynomial Commitments

Fractal Commitments Enable Universal Logarithmic-Size Verifiable Computation

This new fractal commitment scheme recursively compresses polynomial proofs, achieving truly logarithmic verification costs for universal computation without a trusted setup.

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→Sublinear Verifier

→Sigma Protocol

→Succinct Proof System

Lattice-Based Polynomial Commitments Achieve Post-Quantum Succinctness and Efficiency

Greyhound is the first concretely efficient polynomial commitment scheme from standard lattice assumptions, securing ZK-proof systems against future quantum threats.

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→Vector Commitment

→Rollup Scaling

→Merkle Tree

Logarithmic-Depth Commitments Enable Truly Stateless Blockchain Verification

A new Logarithmic-Depth Merkle-Trie Commitment scheme achieves constant-time verification, enabling light clients to securely validate state without storing it.

→Trustless Scalability

→Verifiable Computation

→Data Availability

Transparent Polynomial Commitment Achieves Succinct Proofs without Trusted Setup

A novel polynomial commitment scheme achieves cryptographic transparency and logarithmic verification, eliminating the reliance on a trusted setup for scalable zero-knowledge proofs.