Alice: David, thank you so much for joining me today. Could you start by giving us a brief introduction to yourself and your journey into the world of cryptography and ZK?

David Wong: Absolutely, Alice. Thanks for having me. My journey into cryptography and ZK really began with Bitcoin. Like many, I was initially drawn in by the concept of cryptocurrencies. Using Bitcoin and exploring the broader cryptocurrency space sparked my interest in cryptography. Over time, I became deeply fascinated by the underlying mathematics and the potential of cryptographic systems.

From there, I pursued cryptography academically and professionally, realizing that the most exciting advancements were happening in cryptocurrency. Traditional cryptographic work often revolves around more established protocols like TLS, which, while important, didn’t feel as dynamic to me. ZK caught my attention as one of the most innovative areas within cryptography, particularly as I encountered projects like Zcash and Mina—then known as Coda Protocol—that showcased ZK’s potential.

Alice: That’s quite a progression, starting from Bitcoin to exploring cryptography and then focusing on ZK. How have you seen the ZK space evolve over the years?

David Wong: It’s been a fascinating evolution. When I first encountered ZK, it was primarily academic. I was studying basic sigma protocols to prove simple things like graph colorings or discrete logarithms. At that time, ZK felt theoretical, with limited real-world applications.

The big shift came with Zcash, which demonstrated how ZK could power privacy-preserving payments. From there, projects like Mina pushed boundaries with recursive ZK proofs, enabling use cases like verifiable blockchain compression. Today, we’re seeing an explosion of innovation, especially with zkVMs, which allow general-purpose computations to be proven efficiently. The tools and protocols have become far more practical, with significant advancements in scalability, memory efficiency, and developer accessibility.

Alice: It’s remarkable how far the technology has come. You mentioned zkVMs. Do you see them as a turning point for ZK adoption?

David Wong: Definitely. zkVMs are a major step forward. They abstract much of the complexity, allowing developers to write and prove programs in familiar languages. This eliminates a significant barrier to entry, enabling broader adoption. While there are trade-offs—like performance—zkVMs are good enough for many applications today. Over time, I expect further optimizations to make them even more compelling.

Alice: Speaking of applications, what use cases for ZK excite you the most, both within and beyond blockchain?

David Wong: Within blockchain, the compression and succinctness properties of ZK are game-changers. For example, projects like Mina allow you to verify the entire blockchain with just a single proof. Privacy-focused applications, like ZK mail or ZK login, are also incredibly impactful, enabling users to prove things like email ownership or age without revealing sensitive data.

Beyond blockchain, I’m particularly excited about ZK’s potential in verifiable computation and data privacy. Imagine proving compliance with regulations without exposing underlying business data, or proving creditworthiness without sharing your full financial history. These use cases could redefine trust and privacy in both online and offline interactions.

Alice: Those possibilities sound transformative. But what barriers do you see preventing ZK from reaching mainstream adoption?

David Wong: One significant barrier is still performance. While we’ve made incredible progress, proving complex computations can still be resource-intensive. This is why hardware acceleration and optimization for client-side proving are so important. Additionally, developer accessibility remains a challenge. zkVMs help, but there’s still a steep learning curve for those new to ZK.

Another issue is security. ZK is cutting-edge cryptography, and with that comes the risk of subtle bugs—especially in compilers and circuits. As an industry, we need to focus on robust tooling, standardized libraries, and thorough auditing to ensure safety.

Alice: That’s a critical point. I know your work at zkSecurity involves addressing these challenges. Could you share how zkSecurity approaches audits and what sets your methodology apart?

David Wong: At zkSecurity, our approach is comprehensive yet tailored. We start by understanding the unique aspects of each project—its architecture, the proof systems it uses, and its security goals. From there, we apply a mix of manual code review and automated tools like fuzzing and static analysis.

We’ve also developed a ZK bug repository, which catalogues known vulnerabilities and allows us to reproduce them. This helps us identify patterns and educate developers. Our goal is not just to find bugs but to equip teams with the knowledge to avoid them in the future.

Alice: That’s a valuable resource. I also understand that zkSecurity is working on a new programming language called NoName. What inspired its development?

David Wong: NoName was born out of a desire to improve developer experience. Early ZK tools like Circom are powerful but lack abstractions, making them prone to errors. NoName takes a different approach. It’s inspired by Rust and Go, offering a simpler syntax, better type safety, and compatibility with multiple proof systems.

Our goal with NoName is to create a language that’s both accessible and powerful. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re excited by the community’s contributions and the potential it holds.

Alice: It sounds like NoName is shaping up to be a game-changer. Before we wrap up, are there any final thoughts you’d like to share with the audience?

David Wong: ZK is an incredibly exciting field with breakthroughs happening every year. For anyone considering getting involved, now is the time. The community is collaborative and welcoming, with ample resources to help newcomers. My advice is to start small, experiment with tools like zkVMs, and don’t be afraid to dive into the fundamentals if you’re curious. The possibilities with ZK extend far beyond blockchain, and I can’t wait to see what we build together.

Alice: Thank you, David. This has been an insightful conversation. I’m sure our readers will take a lot away from it.‍

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