ETH Zero-Proof Prototype Models: Has Ernst & Young Done What Ethereum Could Not?

Multinational auditing and consulting firm, Ernst & Young, announced on October 30 the launch of their EY Ops Chain Public Edition prototype, the world's first implementation of zero-knowledge proof technology on the public Ethereum blockchain.

Public blockchains versus private blockchainsThe biggest difference between public and private blockchains lies in who is allowed to join and participate in the network.

The most well-known public blockchains are Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Examples of private and consortium blockchain networks include Hyperledger, private blockchain infrastructure, and R3, a global banking and financial institution blockchain consortium based on their distributed ledger technology product, Corda.

Public blockchains typically offer better security and liquidity through greater decentralization, while private blockchains offer complete protection of customer information.

"EY Ops chain PE is a first-of-its-kind application and a major step forward that empowers blockchain adoption. Private blockchains give enterprises transaction privacy, but at the expense of reduced security and resiliency. With zero-knowledge proofs, organizations can transact on the same network as their competition in complete privacy and without giving up the security of the public Ethereum blockchain."

"The development of tools that enhance the capabilities of public blockchains will spur enterprise adoption of public blockchains and are crucial to the growth of blockchain technologies in general. The ability to ensure privacy while retaining the security and resilience of public blockchains is an important consideration. It offers an opportunity for enterprises to begin building real-world solutions on public blockchains and is an important step in the evolution of the technology."

Another issue of ZK-SNARK transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, according to a white paper released by members of the Blockchain team from multinational Dutch bank, ING, - who also launched a zero-knowledge tool - is that it is notably less efficient.

Detailed technical information is still not available on EY's Ops Chain PE system but the press release specifically stated that the technology will allow companies to privately and securely create and sell product and service tokens on a public blockchain with private access to their transaction records without breaking the consensus algorithm, i.e. Ethereum's proof of work consensus algorithm remains intact.

Were E&Y able to do what Ethereum could not, that is, to come up with a scalable, cost-effective solution to private transactions and asset transfers on a secure and resilient public blockchain? E&Y's positive comments in their press release about enabling growth in enterprise public blockchain adoption would suggest that they did.