Zero-knowledge proof experts predict continued growth and adoption of the technology ZKPs through 2025. They highlight improvements in performance proofing and developer tools, in addition to changes that will make the technology more practical for privacy and scalability.
Zero-Knowledge proofs poised to revolutionize finance and other industries
Although the concept of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) emerged in the late 1980s, the technology has gained significant popularity in recent years. 2024 in particular is seen as a pivotal year. From a significant increase in ZKP-related development projects to growing interest from regulators, the past twelve months have solidified ZKPs’ position as a critical technology with the potential to revolutionize several sectors.
To investigate the technology’s prospects in 2025, Bitcoin.com News contacted several experts. While there is consensus on the direction of the technology, experts have mixed opinions on factors contributing to the continued growth and adoption of ZKPs in the coming year.
For example, Nanak Nihal, co-founder of Holonym, predicts significant improvements in ZKP test performance, a key factor in making the technology practical for privacy and scalability. Nihal also expects ZK developer tools to become easier to use, encouraging more developers to integrate the technology.
Den Manu, CMO at Funtico, shares Nihal’s feelings. Manu also said he expects ZKPs to become a “cornerstone” for applications that require privacy and scalability. While Nihal expects the client side of ZK to become “increasingly practical” by 2025, Manu expects widespread integration of ZK protocols across platforms.
The Funtico CMO adds that multi-layer blockchains (Layer 2s) will rely heavily on ZK rollups by 2025 to minimize network load. According to him, this significantly increases transaction throughput and makes blockchain applications more efficient and accessible.
ZKPs set for 100-fold improvement
Omar Azhar, VP, Head of Business Development at Matter Labs, said he expects “another 10-100x improvement in the core technology itself.” This achievement, Azhar explains, would significantly reduce the cost of generating ZK receipts for transactions. About ZKsync, which he said has improved tenfold since its inception two years ago, Azhar said:
“Expect this to continue into 2025. I also expect that we will no longer be tied to just ZKevms as we see ZKvms maturing, such as the new upcoming prover for ZKsync that will allow developers to build with other languages such as C++, Rust, etc This would significantly expand the design space for different types of applications and the scale of those applications.”
However, one expert, Sander Görtjes, CEO of Hello Labs, argued that ZKPs as a signature for secure execution “will remain an emerging concept.” Görtjes added that his team expects “less focus” on technological breakthroughs and more on educating the public about the clear benefits that ZKPs provide.
Regarding the use of ZK protocols outside the financial world, the CEO of Hello Labs assessed that the technology’s ability to prove the correct execution of a small program on specific data could be crucial in enabling confidential transactions in healthcare, for example. Yet fellow expert Azhar argues that progress “on the identity side of things” is needed before a critical mass of healthcare organizations using ZKPs can be built.
