a16z Crypto updates Jolt zkVM and questions the industry's misuse of the "ZK" concept.

A16z Crypto, a venture capital firm under Andreessen Horowitz, recently published a blog post updating its open-source Jolt zkVM and pointing out a widespread misuse of the "ZK (zero-knowledge)" concept in the industry. A16z states that many so-called zkVMs do not actually possess true zero-knowledge properties unless an additional costly "wrapping" process is implemented. This process typically requires recursive proofs to verify the zkVM's proof again in another proof system that truly possesses zero-knowledge properties. This is not only computationally expensive but also often requires a "trusted setup," sacrificing system transparency. The article points out that in many developers' contexts, "zk" has gradually become synonymous with "succinctness," meaning small proof size and fast verification speed, rather than true zero-knowledge privacy protection. A16z believes that as the industry's demand for privacy protection increases, this conceptual misuse is becoming increasingly problematic. True zero-knowledge proofs should prioritize protecting the privacy of the prover's sensitive data, not just providing an efficient verification mechanism. At the same time, A16z also announced the introduction of the NovaBlindFold folding scheme for Jolt zkVM to enhance its privacy capabilities and make the virtual machine more suitable for privacy-related application scenarios.