The Power I Know: Zero-Knowledge Proofs and Their Transformative Role in the Future of Cryptography

Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) are public-key cryptosystem that enables to demonstrate that a statement which is known by them is correct without revealing the same to the verifier. ZKPs have moved in modern cryptographic systems, blockchain applications, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and identity authentication systems. This paper explores the evolution of ZKPs and their significance as in secure and privacy-preserving. We classify ZKPs into two groups, namely interactive and non-interactive, discussing prominent protocols such as zk-SNARKs, zk-STARKs, Bulletproofs, PLONK, and Halo2. Each approach has advantages such as efficiency, proof size, and computational overhead. The study further examines the multitude of applications of ZKPs, such as privacy-enhanced blockchain transactions, zero-knowledge rollups for scalability, decentralized identity management, secure voting mechanisms, and regulatory-compliant financial systems. With advantages, possible limitations in scalability, lack of standardization, and vulnerabilities to emerging quantum computing threats. Due to restrictions, hardware acceleration through GPUs and others presents promising solutions, while new protocols such as PLONK and Halo2 seek to optimize performance to earlier developed solutions. Finally, we discuss the future trajectory of ZKPs. This review aims to provide an understanding of the current state of ZKP research, its applications, and the key challenges that need to be addressed to facilitate broader adoption.