Researchers at Alloc Init, a cryptography research firm, have proposed a system called Shielded Bitcoin to bring Zcash-style private transfers to Bitcoin without requiring a soft fork or changing the core protocol's consensus. The system conceals the amount, sender, recipient, and links to previously spent funds using cryptographic annuity tickets and zero-knowledge proofs, using Bitcoin as a neutral layer for publication and ordering, while separate software called Indexers verifies the proofs, checks that funds are not double-spent, and builds the state of the private system. The research report was published on Thursday by Clara Shikhelman, Mikhail Komarov, and Aleksei Moskvin, drawing mixed reactions. Vadim Zavodil questioned whether a new privacy pool can start without the anonymity set that Zcash has accumulated over many years, while Eli Ben-Sasson, co-author of Zerocash and CEO of StarkWare, endorsed the direction of the proposal.
BitcoinProposal brings Zcash-style shielded private transfers to Bitcoin without a soft fork, drawing mixed reactions.
ZcashShielded Bitcoin could replicate Zcash-style privacy on Bitcoin, though a researcher questions whether a new privacy pool can match Zcash's accumulated anonymity set.
