[PRESS RELEASE – Zug, Switzerland, June 20th, 2024]

Aleph Zero announces significant ecosystem advancements: the first EVM-compatible ZK-Privacy Layer capable of generating zero-knowledge proofs in under one second on consumer-grade devices and zkOS, a product suite for seamless integration of on-chain privacy into various Web3 applications.

The Aleph Zero Foundation is excited to announce the testnet release of its ZK-privacy EVM Layer 2 solution powered by Arbitrum Orbit on Gelato RaaS. This marks the first EVM-compatible privacy solution capable of subsecond ZK proving times, significantly enhancing the end-user experience by making on-chain privacy virtually instantaneous.

Aleph Zero also revealed its long-term strategy to develop zkOS: a client-side, chain-agnostic zero-knowledge privacy system. zkOS aims to offer Privacy-as-a-Service (PaaS) via seamless app integrations on WASM and EVM-compatible networks. These initiatives open Aleph Zero’s ecosystem to a broader range of EVM users and mark its first step towards potential multichain growth.

With zkOS, users can conduct private transactions and interact with dApps without compromising their data. This system enables high-throughput applications, such as privacy-preserving DeFi apps, RWAs, AI, and enterprise solutions, broadening the reach of privacy technologies to a wider audience.

“Privacy is still mostly unsolved; it’s costly, complex to use and build, and its use cases lack economic incentives. With zkOS by Aleph Zero and the zk-privacy EVM layer 2, we aim to change that not only in the Aleph Zero ecosystem, but also in the broader Ethereum ecosystem thanks to the flexibility of Arbitrum Orbit’s stack and our collaboration with the idOS network.” -Antoni Zolciak, Co-founder of Aleph Zero

Aleph Zero’s Substrate-based WASM Layer 1 blockchain, launched in November 2021, offers developers subsecond finality, support for 170 validator nodes, and over 40 external teams building various applications. The Layer 1 will now also serve as the Data Availability layer for the L2 EVM layer, its applications, and its L3 appchains.

The new ZK-privacy EVM Layer 2 Developer Testnet is now live, inviting builders and early adopters. Integration examples include Rarible, the NFT company, and a yet-to-be-announced team working on novel prediction markets. The Developer Mainnet release is scheduled for Q3 2024.

Aleph Zero EVM, a ZK-privacy Layer 2 rollup on Ethereum, is built in partnership with Gelato, leveraging Arbitrum Anytrust DAC technology for a fast, secure, and scalable execution environment. It boasts up to 250ms block times with near-instant transaction finality and processes thousands of transactions per second, making it one of the fastest EVM chains on the market.

“Aleph Zero EVM uses Arbitrum Orbits’ advanced web3 scaling stack–with the most performant developer tooling–to create the most advanced privacy-enhancing blockchain infrastructure on the market.” said Luis Schliesske, Founder of Gelato. “Privacy will become a major narrative in 2024 and beyond, as more mainstream use cases emerge.

Aleph Zero EVM Layer 2 Developer Testnet includes extensive developer tooling from Gelato and third-party infrastructure like oracles, block explorers, and multi-sig, making it a versatile platform.

Aleph Zero’s zkOS uses the Halo2 with KZG commitment scheme for speed and a universally trusted setup. Although it requires more developer effort than alternatives like Noir or Risc0, Aleph Zero’s zkToolkit simplifies zkOS integration, ensuring high performance and ease of use across existing apps in both Aleph Zero and Ethereum ecosystems. Initial benchmarks show zkOS zero-knowledge proofs can be executed in 600-800 ms on standard devices using browsers like Safari or Chrome.

Development Roadmap

The EVM Testnet is unveiled today, with the Mainnet release set for Q3 2024, enabling developers to deploy production-ready apps with optional privacy features. The zkOS MVP is expected by Q3 2024, with ZK identity features in collaboration with idOS and private operations on arbitrary ERC-20 tokens by Q4 2024. Advanced features of zkOS are slated for Q1 2025. For more details, users can visit the roadmap section on alephzero.org.

Use Cases

Confirmed use cases working with Aleph Zero and zkOS include:

• Holyheld: Enhancing card payments with privacy technology.
• DRKVRS: Adding privacy to a unique action RPG game.
• Rarible: the NFT company with Rarible Marketplace being integrated with Aleph Zero.
• See3: Building a new crypto-native ZK content standard.
• idOS: Managing personal data access for dApps.
• Pieces.market: Compliant investment in fractionalized luxury RWAs.
• Upcade.xyz: Setting new standards in web3 gaming.
• Common: Expanding its Private DeFi Suite to the EVM ecosystem via Aleph Zero.

For more information about Aleph Zero EVM and zkOS, users can visit Aleph Zero or join the community on Discord and Telegram.

About Aleph Zero

Aleph Zero is a privacy-first ecosystem of blockchain solutions engineered for speed, data confidentiality, and ease of development, supporting development across WASM-based Rust and EVM-based Solidity environments. Aleph Zero showcases its adaptability across various sectors and applications, supported by an engaged community and growing ecosystem.

For inquiries, users can contact josh@serotonin.co or ana@serotonin.co.

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